Equinox  Kanto
by Zana An
Summary: A ordinary young girl gets pushed into dare which quickly turns sour.  Her world turned upside down, and with the fate of her loved ones at stake will she sacrifice herself?
1. Chapter 1  The Courtship Of Curses

Story Notes:

This is the first of a few stories that will be based in the same universe. Each with different goals and personalities. However this one will have you hooked!

Author's Chapter Notes:

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Equinox-Kanto

~The Courtship Of Curses~

It was warm outside. As chirping Pidgeys flew weightlessly through the sky, a gentle breeze blew through the recesses of meadows and sweet green pastures like the crisp breath of a Suicune. Overhead, the sun cast bright golden rays through the cloudless sky, illuminating the edge of the Forbidden forest, which lay twenty-one miles west of Pallet Town.

Plastered lazily against the thick lower branch of a garden tree, Clare watched the wind sweep through the grass of the meadow that spread out before her, undulating with a liquid motion. After admiring the sight for a brief number of seconds, the girl retreated into her head to live out her fantasies out of boredom; she often journeyed to this spot to get away from her sleepy home located in the village of Forbest.

Mumbling, she rolled a straw strand in-between her small, puckered lips, her mind playing pictures of forbidden objects rooted in eroticism. Reaching up, she drew an invisible ink drawing in the air with a thin, porcelain-colored arm. Discarding the yellow reed with a flick of her finger, Clare's lips drew into a thin smile, her face shaded by her straw cowboy hat.

"Clare, Clare! Get your butt down here you stinking mongrel!"

The voice registered in her ears abruptly, shattering her world of sexual fantasies and sucking her back into reality. Audibly sighing, Clare turned towards the source of the ruckus, revealing her hidden brown eyes from beneath the veil of her headgear. She brushed aside a strand of brunette hair, which revealed the excited face of a close friend. Lily usually only got this riled up if there was gossip about Millete that desperately needed to be shared.

Kicking her legs outward, Clare pulled herself into a sitting position, feeling the rough bark of the tree scratch against her back through the fabric of her shirt. "What the hell do you want, Lily? Wait, don't tell me: you got Millete to do some stupid dare again."

An expression of shock flashed across Lily's face. Her lips puckered tightly against each other as she leaned forward, looking at Clare through squinted eyes. "Woah… Do you have psychic powers or something? It's like you already knew what I was going to say…" Trailing off, she turned away and scratched at her chin, appearing to be deep in thought.

Clare laughed. "Yeah, I wish. Did you know that I can shoot laser beams out of my eyes too?" she said, popping her eyes out at Lily. "You're such a moron! I don't need to be psychic; your face is as open as a textbook. You got Millete to do something stupid, didn't you?"

Lily rubbed the balls of her naked feet against the soft earth and looked at Clare, the crimson shade of embarrassment creeping across her cheeks. She waited, silently demanding a query from her friend before revealing her secret.

"Ok, fine," Clare huffed, "what is it this time?"

Lily swelled with excitement, looking like an overinflated balloon that was about to burst; it was as if she would explode if her information wasn't divulged to a sentient creature. Her polished teeth flashed white as a wide grin broke across her face.

"Oh, Millete's totally going to lose this one," she said. "And if she does, she's gonna have to slip a Dratini into her undies!" After a brief fit of laughing, Lily continued, "Ok, so- I dared Millete to… Spend the Halloween night in the Forbidden Forest, all by herself. OOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!" she cried, raising her hands above her head and wiggling her fingers in an attempt to look like a monster.

Clare raised an eyebrow in response. "Wow, Lily, you've really outdone yourself now," she said sarcastically. "But seriously: there's some seriously creepy stuff in that place, not to mention wild Pokemon. She could get hurt. All in all, its also Hallows Eve" Not waiting for a reply from her dim-witted friend, she muttered, "Anyways, I'm bored. Let's head to the market and bother Millete at her stall; that way we can also save Nina from being bored to death."

"Who's Nina?" Lily asked, confused.

"Millete's cousin, dumbass," Clare said, hopping down from her seat in the tree. Grabbing her friend's wrist, she smiled. "Let's go!"

At the Marketplace…

Gazing at the decorated wooden tables that made up her competitor's shopping stalls, Nina stretched, yawning from the self-inflicted torture of running a shopping stall in Forbest Village's marketplace. While her cousin Millete was attracting shoppers with her charm and witty phrases, she would stand behind her cousin's table of goods and try not to appear too bored. Today was a relatively busy day, as the market was clustered with hordes of shoppers, most of whom had come seeking goods for Halloween; in other words, good business was to be had. A handsome sum of money had already been earned, and the two girls had since agreed to split the share evenly.

On the other hand, Millete was having a fantastic time. Standing amidst the crowd in a mini skirt that showed off her well-toned legs, she hollered, "Get your berries! All kinds of berries! Pink berries, yellow berries, white berries: you want it, I've got it! Come on over and make your Pokemon happy!" She stopped then, smiling pleasantly at the line of people that accumulated at her stall. Her gleaming emerald eyes stood out against her violet hair as she whipped her head around to face Nina with the intention to give her a thumbs-up, only to find the space empty. In Nina's place, a heap of clothes lay strewn in the dirt.

Oh, no, Millete thought, nearly groaning out loud in frustration. Adjusting her gaze, her eyes fell upon Nina, clad in nothing but her bra and panties, dancing sensually to an inaudible rhythm not far from her stall. Giving her line of customers an apologetic look, she said, "I'm so sorry, I'll be right back."

Unaware of her cousin's attention, Nina continued her indecent display, only to be halted by a hand roughly clamping down on her shoulder. Spinning around, she was greeted with a very angry looking Millete, who held her low-cut shorts and shirt in what seemed to be a clawed hand. "What the hell are you doing?" Millete seethed through clasped teeth.

"Chill out, Mills. I'm boosting your sales: just watch," Nina replied, even as the line at their stall began to disperse.

Pointing to their customer-less stall with a trembling hand, her cousin hissed, "Now look what you did, you idiot! Now put your freakin' clothes back on before you get us in trouble."

Snatching her articles of clothing from Millete's grasp, Nina struck an aristocratic pose in her near stark-nakedness. She tilted her chin upwards. "I have little regard for public decency," she said in a faux British accent. When Millete failed to reply while fixing her in a criticizing gaze, Nina muttered, "Damn party pooper," as she slipped into her shorts.

While her cousin worked her way into her shirt, Millete sighed and looked up at the sky; the sun was retreating into the horizon, giving birth to a staggering display of pink and crimson colors that flooded the sky. In similar fashion, the warmth of the day was slowly ebbing away, succumbing to the chill of night. It wouldn't be long before the twin tyrants would be back.

Millete chuckled to herself. Lily and Clare weren't only the two silliest girls on the face of the planet, but they also held a special place in Millete's heart as her best friends. Idiotic and troublesome best friends, but best friends nonetheless.

Trying to gaze past various shop vendors who were packing their goods up for the evening, Nina stood on her tiptoes and craned her neck, barely catching sight of Clare and Lily waving at her in the distance. "Hey, look," she said, pointing, "it looks like those two are early, so I guess we can pack our stuff up and head out to camp sooner."

Millete's good mood seemed to vanish instantly as Lily's challenge came to mind. Earlier in the day when she was escorting Millete to work, Lily had dared her to spend the night in the Forbidden Forest that bordered the village of Forbest. According to local lore, evil spirits and cannibalistic monsters emerged from the confines of Hell to stalk the forested wilderness, hunting for any creature that dared stay out at night. Of course, Millete had long since dismissed the legends as bullshit, and promptly accepted. Now that the dark of night was beginning to eat away at the light of day, she was beginning to second-guess herself on the whole idea of camping alone.

"Hey, what's up, bitches?" Clare asked approaching the group. Strangely, she was carrying two backpacks, and opposite of her, Lily was also equipped with a rucksack.

"Hey," Millete replied, "what's with the extra backpacks?" In preparation for her trip, she had already packed, and her backpack was currently stowed away underneath her stall.

"Well, we-" Lily began.

"Thought that it would be too dangerous if you went out by yourself," Clare continued, cutting Lily off, "so we decided to come with you!"

In that instant, Millete's anxiety was alleviated, if only a little. "Who's the extra backpack for?" she asked, pointing to the extra bag that Clare had slung across her back.

"Who do you think, dumbo?" Clare replied, handing the bag to Nina, who accepted the item with a nod.

"But how-"

Clare gave Millete a devilish grin. "Me and Lily broke into your house and got Nina's stuff for her. Most of her stuff was all packed up anyway."

"Yeah," said Nina. "I'm going back to Cerulean City tomorrow for University."

Still unable to comprehend what her friends had done, Millete stuttered, "How… How the hell did you break into my house? "

"Easy," Clare said simply, "I climbed through your kitchen window like I always do, and then I got Nina's stuff for her… Oh, and Lily ripped out a bunch of pages from one of my porno mags and glued the pages to your wall."

Millete's face darkened, and she whipped around to face Lily. "You what?"

"Uh," Lily said quietly, a sheepish look on her face. "I uh, you know, glued a bunch of magazine pages to your wall." After watching her friend stand in place, looking as if she would explode, Lily shouted, "Just kidding!"

Nina slapped Millete on the back, and in turn, she stood motionless, un-amused. "Oh man," Nina said, "that was a pretty good one." She raised her fist, and Lily pounded it.

"Ok- seriously, stop it, guys," Clare said, interrupting the group. "Let's get a freakin' move on; I'm getting tired of carrying my stuff." As the others nodded their heads in agreement, she pulled off her rucksack and withdrew a flashlight in preparation for the oncoming darkness. Sometimes people didn't like her because she was always blunt and to the point, but then again, it was sometimes hard to take her seriously, especially when she donned her goofy farm girl hat.

Without further conversation, the small group of girls began their short journey to the forest as they bypassed the marketplace grounds in a matter of minutes. Before long, the gray cobblestone roads of the village gave way to the dusty brown of the dirt road that lead to the open meadows, which in turn led to the Forbidden Forest. In the silence of night, the sounds of their pattering feet against the meadow grass seemed to be much louder than they should have been, contributing to an increasingly eerie setting.

After a short while, the girls' trip came to an end as they found themselves facing the border of the forest. By this time, the sun had completely sunk beneath the horizon and the only light that Mother Nature offered was the pale glow of the moon; in the dim setting, the ominous forest seemed to stretch out in all directions in a solid mass, threatening to engulf the group in a wave of darkness.

Nervous, Millete dug into her backpack and pulled out her flashlight, turning it on to shed light on the scene. Illuminated by the light of her torch, the dead-looking trees seemed to separate from their seemingly solid form to reveal twisted, leafless limbs that stretched in all directions like the twisted bones of a skeleton. Their bark, pale and cracking, seemed to give off an aura of unhealthiness; death. Flicking off her flashlight, Millete shuddered.

"Jinkies," Clare suddenly remarked, making some of the group jump, "it's darn creepy out here."

"Yeah," Lily agreed, her voice just above a whisper; her eyes were wide with uneasiness.

When Nina and Millete failed to reply, Clare turned on her flashlight and shined it in their faces, earning a glare from her violet-haired friend. "Maybe this wasn't such a hot idea for a dare, Lily. I mean, look at those woods- who the hell would want to go in there?"

She jumped at the abrupt laughter emanating from Millete. The fear that was in her eyes just moments ago appeared to have dissipated, replaced by steely determination. "Come on, you wusses! I'm not going to turn back after walking this far. Are you guys going to run away like little girls because you're scared of a big bad forest? Hmmmm?"

Siding with Clare, Lily slowly said, "… Uh, why don't we head back? Clare's right: that forest looks way too creepy."

"Well, you pussies can have fun back in town," Millete called out as she set out on her way, trudging through the tall grass that grew in-between the forest's trees. Behind her, Clare and Lily stood frozen in place with no intention of following her. Focusing on the trail ahead, and the narrow flashlight beam that cut through the darkness, Millete continued on without them, hearing their voices gradually fade away in the background.

Crunch, crunch

Keeping her eyes fixed ahead, Millete's brows came together in a frown when she realized that the crunching sounds were out of sync with her own footfalls.

"Looks like it's just you and me now, Mills," Nina's voice suddenly exclaimed. She slapped Millete on the back of her rucksack, making a shudder of shock reverberate throughout her body.

"Jesus Christ, Nina!" Millete cried, anger eating at the fringes of her voice. "You scared the hell out of me!"

Ignoring her, Nina traced small circles around the dark path that stretched out ahead of them. Twisted tree trunks reflected the light with a dull gleam, the surface of the bark seeming to be covered in a layer of slick water; strangely, it hadn't rained in the past number of days. With a yawn, she asked, "You sure this was a good idea, Mills? I mean, it's pretty creepy out here…"

Still trying to catch her breath, Millete huffed, "Come on, Nina: do you really think that anything's going to attack us out here? The only things we need to be worried about are the Rattatas and setting up camp." After a brief pause, she added, "And we also need to prove that we're tougher than Clare and Lily."

"Whatever. I don't know why you listen to them half the time; they always get you into stupid situations, like camping in the middle of some creepy-ass woods for instance."

"Says the public stripper," Millete finished for her with a small laugh.

Her cousin's facial expression turned sour, and she stuck out her tongue at Millete. "At least I don't force you to do stupid stuff."

"Fair enough," she said, still grinning.

As the duo continued on through the tall grass, Millete's flashlight beam made a pass over a small clearing that was relatively clean of knobby roots and knee-high grass; it almost appeared as if a flat boulder had occupied the space for decades, only to be recently removed to reveal a level, earthen patch of land. Breathing a sigh of relief, she asked, "How about that area over there?" illuminating the area with her flashlight. "That way we won't have to deal with the creepy-crawlies in the grass."

Running ahead, Nina inspected the area and nodded her approval. "Works for me."

Catching up to her cousin, Millete slid her backpack from her shoulders and unzipped the main compartment, removing two cylindrical nylon bags. Setting her own on the ground, she tossed the remaining package at Nina, who immediately set to work removing the contents that consisted of composite tubing and more rolled-up nylon. In no time flat, two compact, portable tents marked the cousins' newly claimed patch of territory. This was not the first time the dynamic pair had gone camping; in their earlier years they would go on backyard stakeouts every weekend at Nina's home. Setting up tents was now a second nature and well-practiced act.

After hammering the final plastic stake into the ground, Millete rose and expelled the breath from her lungs in a long sigh, the warm feeling of self gratification overtaking her being. It was refreshing to finally be away from the village of Forbest, to finally be able to breathe in nature's crisp and untainted scent. Yawning, Millete slowly lowered herself into a sitting position in the dirt that stretched out before her tent.

In the midst of her trance-like state, a sizable pile of sticks and logs came crashing down in front of her as she was pulled back to earth, the resounding noise snapping Millete out of her daze. She didn't even notice that Nina had gone to retrieve firewood.

"Tired already?" Nina asked with a chuckle.

Reaching up to rub her eyes, she responded, "Yeah, a little bit- what time is it anyway?"

"Ten thirty," she said after a quick glance at her wristwatch, "but don't fall asleep yet, 'cause we've got to roast some marshmallows first."

Producing a pokeball from her pocket, Nina kicked the pile of wood farther away from Millete before throwing the ball into the air. After a blinding flash that signaled the release of a pokemon, the ebbing light of the device revealed a red bodied creature whose torso and extremities were adorned with yellow flame-like patterns. Quite a peculiar creature, it was: its arms were covered with crimson scales and a row of dangerous looking spikes ran down the length of its spine; two horn-like lumps on both sides of its head burned with a yellow flame, matching the fire at the end of the creature's tail.

"Hey there, Magmar," Millete said in greeting.

"Magmar!" The creature replied.

Arranging the pile of logs in a precise circular formation, Nina asked, "You mind lighting the fire for me, Magmar?"

In response to his master's voice, the pokemon nodded in a hyperactive motion and doused the pile in a brilliant wave of fire as the wood crackled and popped in protest. Millete shuddered in pleasure, feeling the warmth of the fire against her bare legs; it was so very cozy with the combined presence of her cousin, her pokemon, and the pleasant heat of the fire.

Gazing at the Magmar lying splayed out on the opposite end of the fire, Millete laughed. "He's such a lazy pokemon!" Her remark prompted a shrug from Nina as she sat down next to her, in no position to deny her cousin.

Suddenly, a piercing shriek exploded throughout the dense forest, resonating against the trees as the sound echoed off into the distance. In conjunction with the frightening sound, the lone trios' heads whirled about frantically, trying to pinpoint the origin of the nightmarish cry.

"What the hell?" Millete cried out, turning to face Nina and Magmar. She let out a muffled shriek when her wide, terrified eyes fell upon the spots that they had occupied not seconds before. What had happened to them?

Hrrng… Hrrrnnnggg…

Holding herself tight, Millete's eyes flicked around the scene in terror; the second noise had been much closer than the first- much too close for comfort. "N-N-Nina? Is that you, because if it is, I swear I'm going to kick your ass. This isn't funny!" She called out, her attempt to sound brave failing miserably.

Hrrrrnnngggg…. Hhhhhhhhhrrrrrnnnnnnngggggg….

Millete let out a horrified wail and shot to her feet when she saw a tall, skeletal figure slowly emerge from the forest, rocking from side-to-side in an uneven gait. As she prepared to turn around and run in the opposite direction, something invisible clamped around her wrists and legs, rendering her helpless and unable to move. A pokemon attack? A demented joke? Whatever it was, her heart was beginning to beat with increasing speed and intensity, unable to slow.

From the darkness of the surrounding foliage emerged what she could only comprehend as a demon. With slow yet certain footing, a human body stepped into the light of the fire, devoid of any trace of skin. Blood dripped from its torn tissue and shining muscles, which visibly expanded and contracted with every movement as it shuffled towards her with a single-minded drive. The ivory tendons imbedded in the corpse's hands shifted while it repeatedly adjusted its grip on a malicious-looking scythe; the demon's own blood continuously streamed down the tool's wooden shaft, and dripped off of the shining blade fixed at the peak of the wooden spear.

Upon seeing the skeleton, Millete shrieked and struggled at her invisible holds. She screamed louder; the monster was almost upon her.

Crunch, crunch

The skinned human carcass took two, final steps, planting itself in place directly in front of her. It reached out with a skeletal hand and cradled her chin, forcing her averted head to look at it face-to-face. A wave of nausea passed through her after smelling the monster's breath, which came out in short, shuddering gasps. There was no choice, Millete had to look.

Her violet eyes glassed over in fright as they met her tormentor, the corpse's empty eye sockets boring into her soul, ruby tears of blood flowing freely from the cavernous openings. Its lipless mouth, forever fixed in a permanent grin of death, began to move, the sound that escaped its maw sounding surprisingly feminine. And ominously familiar.

"Do you know who I am?"

Before she could formulate a reply, Millete flinched upon seeing a silver line streak through the air simultaneously to a chilling feeling that crept through her neck. It wasn't until she saw fresh blood dripping from the end of the carcass' scythe before she had processed what had happened.

The skin of her throat parted in an explosive spray of red that gushed outwards uncontrollably, covering the side of Nina's tent in a thick layer of blood. Her bonds free, her hands shot up to her throat in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding; Millete stumbled as a feeling of profound light-headedness began to overtake her body. Something was wrong.

Blood bubbled in the back of her throat as she lost control of her motor functions. Slowly, Millete's head slid away from her neck, and she blinked furiously while her severed head flipped through the air, and slammed into the ground. With darkness surrounding her vision, the last thing Millete saw was her rigid body fall back towards her, the severed stump of her neck spewing powerful jets of blood onto her face.

Faster than she ever had before in her life, Millete shot up from her sleep, the speed at which she did so nearly injuring her spine. She didn't care. Carefully, her hands traced a circle around her neck, just to make sure that her head was still attached to her shoulders. Allowing herself an uneven sigh, Millete was immensely relieved to discover all that remained from the vivid nightmare was a cold sweat that covered her from head-to-toe. In sudden remembrance of the contents of her dream, she slowly raised her hands to her face and pinched her cheeks. The pain confirmed that she was back in the real world.

But still, the explicit details of her nightmare continued to play in a continuous loop in her mind. Whose corpse was it that taunted and killed her? The voice… it was familiar, too familiar to ignore.

"Hey, Nina? You awake? I must have dozed-" she stopped upon seeing Nina lying asleep in the dirt, mumbling in fright. Surrounding her was a strange purple haze. Swamp gas? Across from her cousin and the still-burning fire, Magmar rolled around in the clutches of a nightmare, his state similar to Nina's. Oh, crap.

Rising from Nina's body like a malicious violet serpent, a wisp of the purple smoke suddenly puffed upwards into Millete's nostrils before she could stagger away. Millete stared at her cousin's smoke covered body as she felt a strange effect overcome her thinking, blocking out sentient thought with a cloudy wall of milky-white. With a fevered expression on her face, she clumsily rose to her feet and began to moving off into the blackness of the forest with jagged, spastic steps.

Catching sight of a trail of fluorescent lights, Millete began to trudge after the fantastical array of colors that registered in her suppressed brain as a kaleidoscopic tunnel of shifting hues; reds and blues and yellows and greens: it was all so captivating… The urge to reach out was unbearable, and so she did, her outstretched hands taking a firm hold on something.

The vision suddenly dispersed like a violent whirlpool that shot her back into reality once more. What had she seen? Whatever it had been, it must have been yet another hallucination, but what had brought it on? The purple cloud? Her closed eyes squeezed together even tighter.

Suddenly realizing that her hands still firmly clasped on to something, her eyelids slowly drew apart, surprise rising in her gut in realization of what she had clung on to. In her grasp was a violet phantom-like creature, who wore an expression of surprise that matched her own. A Mismagius, if she remembered correctly. Despite the strong urge to break free and run away, Millete was stopped as a voice echoed through her consciousness.

"How did a human break free from his nightmares?" The voice, distinctly male, seemed to ask itself. Millete's hold on the creature tightened upon hearing the voice.

"I don't know how I did it, and I don't care: if you don't let Nina go, someone's going to be scraping your sorry ass off of one of these trees tomorrow morning!" Millete cried hotly, her fear receding.

With a puzzled yet innocent look on its face, the Pokemon replied, "How is it that you are able to comprehend what I am saying? I was merely talking aloud, and I know of no humans who are able to speak my tongue."

Millete frowned. He definitely wasn't speaking English, so how could she possibly interpret him? "Look, I'm sorry if we disturbed you, but can you please let my friends go?" She asked, her voice taking on a softer tone. She couldn't afford her attitude to hinder Nina and Magmar's chances of being released in the inevitable debate for their release.

"I give you my condolences," the pokemon said in legitimate apology, "but I'm afraid that it is not as simple as you believe it to be."

"And why is that?"

"Shhhh," he hushed her. "We are being watched."

Her brows met in an exasperated frown. "By what?"

The pokemon replied in a hushed voice. "The Darkness. The fear within you. Through those he can see all… I believe that you humans know the God of Nightmares as 'Darkrai'."

"There's a Darkrai here?" Millete asked, puzzled. In school horror stories during her early years of education, it was said that Darkrai were a quiet, reserved race that tended to stick to themselves, taking shelter in dark places. When children would die screaming in their sleep hundreds of years in the past, the shadow pokemon was usually put to blame; the very thought made her throat constrict in tension.

"Not a Darkrai," the Mismagius corrected her, a hint of fear dripping from his voice like crimson trickles of blood from a bisection of severed flesh, "but the single deity of Hell itself. He has killed all others of his race and enslaved my friends, and yours as well so that he may draw power from their nightmares to one day rise again."

"What do you mean? Can we save them?"

Their hands still connected, the pokemon threw their intertwining extremities an awkward glance and said, "We may be able to, but I am going to require your assistance. Even then I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done…" His voice trailed off. "I cannot…"

Suddenly, the Mismagius' hands turned transparent and Millete's fingers snapped into clenched fists, the solidity of the pokemon vanishing instantly. Making clear that there was no further interest in conversation, the purple phantom turned his back on her, and without another word, he fled in the opposite direction.

With her eyes narrowed to slits, Millete gave chase to the creature on shaky legs as she dodged past roots and sparsely scattered foliage. But it was too dark to see when running at such speeds; she had left her flashlight back at the campsite. Before what she could comprehend what was happening, Millete felt her left foot catch on a wayward vine when she was just inches away from her target. She fell to the ground in a heap, badly scuffing her knees and elbows on the silty ground that lie underneath her.

She made no move to get up.

Despite the situation Millete felt herself begin to weep, her inhalations coming in harsh, ragged gasps. She cried for Nina. For Magmar. Surely their fate would be just as gruesome as her nightmare? How would they die? Of fright? Just how long would it be before their hearts stopped in their sleep? She squeezed her eyes tight to make the tears go away, to make everything go away.

A pair of firm hands wrapped themselves under the girl's arms and slowly hoisted her to her feet.

"There is a way," the unmistakable voice of the Mismagius said grimly. Apparently her tears had induced a change of heart in the creature. "Darkrai feeds off of the fear of others; it nourishes him and he gorges on that fear until there is nothing left of the being but a dead husk. If you are as persistent as you have led me to believe, then you must help me break Darkrai's concentration so he may release his hold on both of our friends alike."

Blinking away her tears, Millete asked, "But wouldn't he kill me? And why didn't I just stay asleep like Nina and Magmar?"

"He cannot hurt you… but he will have the strength to hurt you with the power he has drained from the nightmares of my friends and I. Lord Darkrai was originally imprisoned here when the essence of goodness, Cresselia, sealed him in an earthen tomb. But with the power he has gained from his treachery over the years by utilizing my companions, I'm afraid that he will not be trapped in stasis much longer," the pokemon explained. "To answer your second question: there is something peculiar about you and your human friend… But I cannot seem to distinguish what it may be. In other words, it is a mystery to me how you were able to break free of Darkrai's nightmares."

His words definitely weren't the reassuring lullaby in which she wanted for comfort. Sighing to alleviate some of her anxiety, Millete replied, "If I help you, wouldn't he just come after me once he's broken free of that trap-thing? Why should I even trust you?"

The pokemon's brows came together in a frown. "This is none negotiable. I want my friends free: they are my only family, and I'll go to any lengths, even if it means sacrificing one human to save five others. You either help me, or your friend and her pokemon "my friends included- will never wake up, remaining in forced servitude forever."

Millete stopped crying. Her jaw dropped a little. "What? You never said anything about a sacrifice!"

"There are a lot of things that I haven't told you."

In response, the girl cradled herself in her own arms. A sacrifice? It sounded like one of those shitty movies that played every Saturday evening on a science fiction channel. But Nina… Magmar…

"Fine, I'll do it," she finally said. "One life to save five others; makes sense to me, I guess… So, uh, how is this whole ritual-thing going to work out?" Beneath her light-hearted words, Millete was truly frightened. It was hard to keep from trembling knowing that by the end of the evening she would be as dead as a tree stump.

Mismagius was impressed; touched even. Within his being his own guilt raged like a tempest, the iron clamp of disgust gripping him. Why must this girl pay for what he was too afraid to do himself? Bringing this girl into a situation where he granted her no other options was totally wrong and he knew it. But under the circumstance, what else could he have possibly done?

"I will explain when we arrive there," the pokemon said. "… If you can find it in your heart later on, please grant me forgiveness." His words were unexpected.

Millete laughed with uncertainly, but it was more of a hollow expulsion of air than a giggle. She tried to smile. "I don't hold you responsible- you're only doing what you can to save your friends; in a way, I guess that we're kind of in the same boat, except, well, I'm gonna be dead pretty soon," she gulped.

Unable to find any further words of comfort, Mismagius took her hand and together they walked through the dense brush of the forest for what seemed to be an eternity. Suddenly, the pokemon stopped her from walking any further just short of a clearing. With care not to make any noise, he guided the girl into a thick bush.

"Hush, the tomb is here- look through the branches. I'm assuming that Darkrai can sense us here, but maybe he won't be able to locate where we are if we stay quiet. He is snare-"

Before he could finish, Millete subconsciously let out a muffled yelp as she pulled the curtain of branches that shielded the clearing. There was a structure in the middle of the small patch of clear land, but her vision was yanked from the sight by numerous bodies that dangled upside-down, suspended by ropes and overhanging tree branches. All of the corpses appeared to be pokemon in various forms of decay; closest to her was a hanging Rattata, its putrefied green flesh stretching over its skeleton like latex.

"He forces us to perform sacrifices in his name," the Mismagius said with remorse. "In a way, I suppose we are his 'cult' of sorts. He feeds off of the fear of the dying, as that is among the most concentrated emotions that he can leech from…"

Her tanned face drained of all color, Millete slowly nodded her head. Ripping her head away from the bodies, her green eyes fell upon what looked to be a small shrine of sorts: a stone floor covered a small area of ten-by-ten feet with a pedestal carved with ornate symbols in the center. Lying on top of the pedestal was a pyramid, its color a sleek, glossy black. Two pokemon surrounded by a purple haze, a Rotom and a Duskull, were clinging to it. To be more precise, they looked as if they were unable to break away from the strange object, their tormented faces in a similar state as Nina and Magmar.

"He only allows for one of us to leave while he feeds off of the remaining two using his nightmare curse. It is his way of making sure that none of us flee because of the bond we share with each other; call it insurance if you will," Mismagius explained, his tone of voice resonating fear.

His heartfelt explanation spurred Millete to think of something, anything, from the classes that she had attended under Professor Oak. The answer suddenly came to Millete as she pictured a light bulb flicking on inside her head. She turned to Mismaguis and whispered, "Do all of your friends have a human master?"

The Pokemon shook his head as she pulled out a few pokeballs. She always carried at least four in case she found a pokemon that she liked, but had never used one because of her pickiness.

"What are you planning to do with them? We haven't even discussed the ritual yet," the purple creature asked in confusion.

"It's just a little theory of mine, but if they don't have a master and are unbound, I should be able to capture them and force them away from Darkrai. If he's as powerless as you say he is, this should be pretty easy… And I don't have to die, which is a huge plus for me." Her voice radiated confidence, but Mismagius could tell that she was much less sure of herself than she was letting on.

Nonetheless, her theory was practical enough that it just might succeed, and the only way to find out was to try. Without a second word, Millete raised the two pokeballs. Whatever state the two ghost pokemon were in, they would probably be much easier to acquire if the Mismagius was telling the truth about their condition.

Pressing the circular buttons on each ball, the thrust her arm forward and let the spheres fly from her grasp, hurtling towards the two trapped pokemon. The girl held her breath as two explosions of white light burst from the pokeballs, the raw energy engulfing the forms of the two trapped spirits. An instant later, they disappeared into the balls.

In reaction to the capture of the two slaves, a terrifying voice exploded from the pyramid, ripping through the air towards her. "Wretched swine! You dare oppose me? You dare interfere with my affairs?"

Below the black shrine, the balls rocked from side-to-side: once, twice, thrice. The central buttons on the two devices clicked shut; she had successfully captured them, but at what cost?

"Summon and return my followers and you shall not be harmed," the tyrannous voice boomed at her.

Gulping to swallow her fear, Millete clenched her fists and rose from the bushes, gallantly approaching Darkrai's prison; despite her body language, she was sure that the creature could sense her immense fear that she kept hidden away within. Stepping onto the sand-colored platform with uncertain footing, she audaciously continued her advance one step at a time. As Millete reached her destination, she reached down underneath the pedestal and scooped up the pokeballs.

"That's funny that you call them your followers. I'd say that you treat them more like your slaves than anything else, and what's more sick is that you force them to worship and sacrifice lives in your name. As a matter of fact, I don't even think that I'd sacrifice a tuna sandwich to an airhead like you. So here's my answer: no. All life is born to live free," she replied in words that surprised herself. Thinking back on it, the tuna sandwich comment probably wasn't such a hot idea.

As she turned to walk away, the Darkrai's voice exploded outwards with a crackle of thunder. "You will regret this, wench. Once I am free, I will come to you to wreak my retribution for what you have done on this day. I will tear your fragile body to pieces, and your village will soon follow in the wake of your eviscerated corpse. I will hunt down all that you love: your cousin, the rest of your family members; they will be hung by their entrails in your precious little village for all to see."

Suddenly, a strong gale overtook the area, sending Millete sprawling off the platform as clouds of shadow swept over the shrine. The corpses of the pokemon that hung from the trees snapped free of their bonds from the force of the wind, and were sent hurtling towards the black pyramid where their rotten flesh and bone dissolved in an instant. Just as quickly as the strange storm began, the force of the wind instantly evaporated. The only evidence that the occurrence had ever taken place were the snapped ropes where the dead bodies had been hung, which now swung about in the wake of the wind.

Emerging from the bushes, the purple phantom smiled broadly in wonder. "Well done!" He cried.

"Thanks," Millete replied with an equally wide smile. "I just wish that you hadn't scared me with all that sacrificial stu-"

She stopped, her grin contorting into an ugly expression of agonizing pain. Millete doubled over and fell to the ground, tightly grabbing onto her abdomen as an involuntary scream of pain ripped from her mouth. Rushing to her side, Mismagius latched onto her arms and dragged her away from the Darkrai shrine to the safety of the bushes. He didn't know what was wrong with the girl, which frightened him more than his evil master's presence.

Millete, who was now covered in a slick layer of sweat, broke out into a fit of gasps as she un-buttoned the last three plastic nubs on her shirt, desperate to get the irritating fabric away from her skin. Her eyes widened upon seeing a brand that burned deep into her flesh, spanning at least four inches down the left side of her belly. It began with a straight line that curved left and right, becoming more and more wide the further it went down. The marking ended in what looked to be a spiked Seviper head that almost looked to be a tribal tattoo.

The pain abruptly ceased, causing Millete to take several breaths of relief. She threw an appreciative glance at Mismagius for pulling her away; without his intervention, she would probably have been reduced to a pile of cinders by now.

"A taste of things to come when I slowly kill you and those three pokemon," the Darkrai's fading voice rumbled. "I am looking forward to destroying everything you have come to cherish, and whenever you look down at that mark, I want you to remember that the pain you have just experienced will increase a thousand fold. It is only a matter-" The pokemon's voice had almost completely faded, no doubt because of his depleted power. Regardless, Millete knew that by this point she was most certainly waist-deep in shit.

An ominous silence had once again retaken the night air, effectively returning the Forbidden Forest to its natural state. The pain gone, Millete staggered to her feet while Mismagius stared at her with concern. Pointing out a path that led back to her original camp, the pokemon felt guilty because of what he had dragged upon the human; the wrath of Darkrai himself.

As they traversed the forest floor, he asked, "Please don't tell the others that we can communicate to this extent- Rotom would likely become offended, as he is the most intelligent in our group. I would appreciate if this was kept between us for the time being."

Millete nodded in agreement, though she was slightly puzzled by his request.

When the fire that marked Nina's campsite was barely discernable as a dull flicker in the distance, she stopped and withdrew both of the pokeballs that contained the Duskull and Rotom. Pressing the buttons, two flashes of light marked the release of the two ghost-type pokemon.

"You are all free to go now, I guess," Millete said while the newly-released pair glanced up at her with curious eyes. Suprisingly, all three pokemon jumped towards her feet to grovel in her presence.

Jumping back, she cried, "No, no, no! That's not necessary! It's quite ok, because I don't see any reason to thank me."

Floating before her, the crackling electric ghost known as Rotom spoke in a voice akin to an electronically synthesized voice. "No- for what you have done for us, we fully intend to repay the debt by assisting you in your future endeavors relating to the trouble we have brought upon you. Please allow us to assist you: to be your pokemon, if you will."

Beside the Rotom, the Duskull nodded with great enthusiasm, its eyes wide.

Smiling vibrantly, Millete thought back to her childhood desire to capture and own a pokemon of her own so that she might one day become a Pokemon Ranger. Now she had the chance to have not just one, but three, two of which whom miraculously spoke English. Perhaps with their help, their combined minds could figure out a way to stop Darkrai when he inevitably broke free of his prison…

"Ok, ok, I give! You can by my pokemon!" She laughed.

The Duskull, who appeared to be extremely shy around strangers, floated upwards to hand her his and Rotom's capsules. Giggling at the clearly-defined blush on the creature's face, she accepted the containment balls and pressed the button on each, summoning them back into their enclosures with a flash.

Levitating in front of her, Mismagius said, "I also wish to be caught and remain in your service… After all, I would say that we make a fairly decent team."

"Really? Thank you!" Millete replied, withdrawing another pokeball from her pocket. "But promise me one more thing."

"And what might that be?"

"No more ritualistic sacrifices, ok?" She asked with a smile, extending her hand.

Taking her hand in his cold grasp, he gave a small laugh and said, "Of course. But after all this time, you still have not told me your name."

"Millete."

"It's nice to meet you, Millete," he said, giving her hand a firm shake. Reaching out, he pressed the button on the pokeball lying in Millte's hand and promptly vanished into the object. The device gave no objections before it locked shut.

Pocketing the device, the girl breathed in a deep breath of cold air before she continued on her way back to Nina's camp. As a chilling wind swept through the trees, she mentally came to the conclusion that it would not be a wise decision to tell the others of what happened on that night. Maybe they did have a right to know of the ordeal that endangered their lives, however, it would be of no use to worry about such things; they deserved to continue on with their lives, lives absent of fear.

Now, Millete was set to forge her own path forward, but where it would lead and where it would eventually end, she did not know. Despite the unknown, one thing was as clear to her as crystalline glass: for those who decided persevere, persistence would pay off in the end. She could not let the fact that Darkrai was infinitely powerful put a stop in her tracks. Somehow, some way, she would find his Achilles heel and put a stop to his wrongdoings. But perhaps it was just a desperate fantasy of an equally desperate girl, though Millete supposed that time would reveal the answer.

Lost in her thoughts, it came as a surprise to Millete when she stumbled back into Nina's camp on shaky legs. When she saw Nina standing upright with a quizzical look stamped on her face, her emotions became overrun with joy. Dancing like a bullet, Millete seized her cousin in a bear hug that sent the duo crashing to the ground.

"I'm so happy you're ok!" She cried out, squeezing Nina harder.

Struggling against her cousin's embrace, Nina wailed, "Get off me, you goof! You're freakin' killing me!"

Millete retracted her arms from her cousin, feeling immensely relieved that her ordeal was finally over, at least for the time being. Nina reflected her affection towards her cousin by roughing up her hair. Across the fire, the now-awake Magmar watched the two friends in amusement, any trace of his original nightmare-induced state completely gone.

"Ok, Nina," Millete began, "what do you say that we head back for the night? I really don't want to stay here anymore."

"Geez, calm down, Mills. You look really spooked."

"You really don't remember anything?" She asked, her tone of voice radiating concern.

Nina frowned and fixed her cousin with a suspicious gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about; I guess I might have dozed off for a couple of hours… Wait, you didn't play a prank on me, did you?"

She doesn't remember a thing about her nightmares, Millete thought in astonishment. Clearing her throat, she said, "No, but can we please leave? That way we can hang out at my place and watch TV, ok?"

"Fine then, let's pack up and go. But you're not telling me something: did something happen to you while I was sleeping or something?"

Millete laughed unconvincingly. "No, no. I just had a little run-in with a wild pokemon. We can just leave our stuff here and come back tomorrow; I mean, it's not going to go anywhere, right?"

Still frowning, Nina said, "Alright. But are you sure that you're ok?" Reaching into her pocket, she took out Magmar's pokeball and called him back inside.

"Yeah, I'm cool. Let's just get out of here." Though she could not tell her cousin, Millete felt like it was beyond her ability to stay in the wretched forest for another second. As unwelcoming as it had felt just hours before, the best way she could currently describe it was 'bloody awful'. Taking Nina's hand, Millete marched through the tall weeds of the forest and back the way they came, practically dragging her cousin at some points during the trek. It wasn't until a little while later before they managed to reach the outer edge of the forest, emerging on the same path that they had taken on the journey there.

Stepping over the threshold of the forest and into the clearing, Millete was finally able to breathe one last explosive sigh of relief. With Nina by her side, the duo started down the road, where they were surprised to find Clare and Lily happily drinking wine over a picnic blanket.

"H- hey, numbskulls! I thought you two went home…. Ah, well, never mind- want to come back t-to my place for a slumber party?" Millete asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I want more wine!" The red-headed Clare exclaimed sluggishly, her voice slurred by the euphoric effects of the alcohol.

"I packed a whole bunch, because it's so nice to just-" Lily hiccupped mid-sentence "-sit out her under the stars before we go home."

Lily and Clare's good humor was pleasantly uplifting to Millete. It would be a good night to remember her friends by; because of what had transpired that evening, she doubted that it would be possible to remain within the confines of Forbest for more than a few days. As the friends began to walk home, Millete wore a faux smile to keep her fear locked away from them.

Up ahead, Clare triumphantly thrust a drunken fist into the air and fell backwards, only to be caught by the equally tipsy Lily. To Millete and Nina, it seemed that their friends had already had already drank enough to satisfy two men twice their size.

With the Forbidden Forest looming in the background, the group retreated in good spirits, none the wiser of the game-changing events that had transpired that evening.

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Chapter End Notes:

Thanks for reading this story, I spent a long time working on this along with TehZombieWaster, who graciously put in his valuable time and effort to make this first chapter what it is. Without his idea's and solid input as co-author this chapter would not have been what it is, so a special thanks to him. I hope you all will continue to follow this work. Please leave feedback and what you would like to see happen within the story through reviews so we may make future chapters more enjoyable.


	2. Chapter 2 Reckless Haste

This chapter is more for plot development and rich in emotion, I hope you enjoy it, and of course there will be nonstop action from chapter 3 onwards!

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**~Equinox Kanto~**

**Chapter 2**

_**'Reckless Haste Leads To Needless Waste'**_

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Millete's fumbling friends started making themselves comfy and well at home, conveniently grabbing their drinks, and raiding through her larder for what provisions they could ascertain for the night. Clare staggered along with Lily's aid in a joint effort. It wasn't long before their little pillaging ended and they were content with what they acquired in their conquest of nurishment, making their way merrily to her bedroom.

"You coming Millete?" Lily asked as she turned around briskly for a moment. Millete responded with a small delay, still thinking of her current problem that shadowed around her petite frame.

"Sure! On my way, just need to grab something". Her friends disappeared down the corridor into her bedroom, where they were intending to spend the delights of the night. Things were as always, ready for their regular gossiping and such. Millete, in that moment, came to a clear understanding with herself, knowing tonight will be her last night in Forbest village. It will also more than likely be her last night with those companions she has come to call friends, should her life not expire through the impending nightmare that loomed the air, drawn to her.

In light of things to come she needed to take steps to have some preparations in place and the first thing she on her agenda was to make something to strap her pokeballs, she rummaged through her unsorted clean laundry finding the perfect item. A red and black garter seemed just right as the frizzy design could be restitched in order to house miniaturised pokeballs. It would merely take a few minutes to do. Millete walked over to the draw taking out scissors, black thread and a needle.

She hastily undid some seams with the scissors flying through the material, making enough incisions for six pokeballs, therefore future proofing herself in case she did by chance capture any further pokemon. She carefully threaded the needle squinting a little with concentration, then followed in making a few quick stitches. This was quicker then she thought and finished within ten minutes. Its rather sexy for what it is she thought, but she was not in a position to go out and buy a pokemon clip belt as all shops had closed at this time. And why waste money when this will do the job just as well? The elasticised fabric could easily cling around the balls securely.

Millete wanted to enjoy the night, attempting to push the thoughts of leaving to the back of her head for now. She felt worried about their well being, as she felt responsible that not only did she seal her own fate but theirs too. The only way to put things right now, would be to find a solution to the rise of Darkrai, and how to prevent it from coming to pass, or battle him if the first in unachievable.

She had heard stories about his godlike powers, an unstoppable force, which was only countered and subdued by Cresselia. That's how she recalled it from her days being a student. Cresselia would be the key to his downfall, maybe she should seek to enlist the aid of this legendary pokemon.

She made her way casually through the corridor to her bedroom grabbing her night gown from the clothes rack where she usually put the odd clothing to dry. She may as well be dressed outside her door. She slid her skirt down and pulled her top over her head discarding it carefree into a corner sloppily, she reached back with one flick unclipped her bra and tossing it in the same direction. Millete's arms slid through the silk fabrics, placed her hands through the sleeves on the short kimono style black robe that came halfway down her thighs, and elegantly tied the belt in a neat bow to secure it round her waist.

Millete entered her bedroom to join the girls taking a glance at Clare, her hill-billy style redhead friend had already changed out of her day clothes wearing a revealing little hot number. A slick Bra with blue transparent material, and matching g-string. Lily wearing a elegant bustier which emphasised her cleavage. Lily's lilac lingerie seemed quite hot too, very nice indeed, it really complimented the matching surroundings. Clare and Lily budged a little around on fairly large and luxurious queen size bed, making space for Millete to sit.

The little group sat facing towards the centre, as they began gossiping about the guy next door, and how he has a crush on Millete. Millete sort of glared at the two, hearing all the strange things he was doing.

"Right. Enough of that loser" Millete said, wanting to change the topic. At that moment Nina walked in from the side bathroom as she let her hair down just having taken a quick shower. A small towel wrapped from her bosom down.

"Hey guys, I'm exhausted and beat so I'm just going to have the one drink then knock off. I've got to be up early to go back to town as I'm getting a lift since there's no trains or buses"

Millete had forgotten there was no public transport system from her village on Sundays which was going to be a problem.

The chatting and giggles drifted into the night with laughter, playful teasing, and general banter. Nina was first to fall asleep on the floor having made a make shift pillow with a spare blanket, followed by Clare in her bed who did have a cute charm regardless of her impatience at times, when she did finally sleep she did look rather adorable and innocent sucking her thumb. Millete wondered if Clare would ever grow out of that habit although we can't help what we do in our sleep.

"Millete since you left the forest something has been bugging you. Did something happen out there?" Millete didn't want Lily involved but it was overwhelming, she needed comfort and support. She tried being the strong little girl she has always been as she tried to not address the matter directly. She stared down as thinking of how she should proceed, feeling reoccurring insecurity throughout the night.

"It's nothing really but I do feel really distressed. Mind if you hold me a moment...?" her voice came out with a tremble as if she would shatter into pieces.

"Sure, anything for you" Lily replied with a warm comforting tone within her words

Lily moved up to Millete, wrapping her arms around the fragile girl. She knew her best friend was not telling her something. Lily felt Millete's heart thumping. Was Millete feeling love for her? Lily started to interpret the signals and it started making sense in her behaviour but Lily clearly had misunderstood Millete's body language.

Lily decided to make a bold move as her hands moved down Millete's back slowly moving around her firm toned waist taking a hold of the belt which was holding her robes together.

"Lily, what are you doing? quit goofing around" Millete said with a little shock.

"I'm here for you, I love you." Lily did not give Millete a chance to say another word as she bravely took the initiative to place her lips over Millete's soft touch, it felt like having sweet nectar pouring onto Lily's awaiting lips. She pulled Millete's robes apart with a quick motion, taking a firm hold of each olive coloured breast surprised that her best friend had her nipples pierced and never told her. The whole situation caught Millete by surprise as she shoved Lily back crossing her arms to conceal her exposed body.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I love you Millete I know I've not had the nerve to say this but its true, and I felt your heart racing. I know you feel the same, so why should we not take it further?"

"What the hell, Lily? I . . . You took advantage of me in my vulnerability, you used me in my weakness. You are supposed to be my best friend!" Millete stated to her in a quiet shaken voice. A tear slid down her right cheek. In that moment Lily had made one of the gravest mistakes of her life. Not only did she reveal how she felt about Millete but the fact she was a lesbian.

"I never meant to hurt you, what I did was from what I felt in my heart, it wasn't lust. I never intended to hurt you, I swear!" Lily pleaded. However it was in vain. Millete was too much in shock with Lily's actions just then to think with a level head.

"You pretended to comfort me to try and gain what you wanted! I never thought you would be so deceitful!" Millete's words where harsh and Lily knew she should back up. Millete moved off the bed walking over to the corner of her room, curled up into a ball and began crying. Lily felt worse for what she'd done to her best friend.

The brunette could not stay there and see her friend like this, she stepped of the bed moving towards her .

"Stay right there don't come near me, don't touch me, ever!" Lily stopped in her tracks and moved back onto the bed. She knew things where bad and she was only making the situation worse. It would be better to re-address matters in the morning.

Millete quivered, as her eyes closed to let the sweet peace of sleep take her, as the morning would bring the farewell to all she has known. She couldn't understand what had happened: Darkrai, then Lily.

Millete woke up feeling immensely sore; her branding from the previous night was hurting a lot; after all, it wasn't an ideal way to leave. She wondered what everyone would think when she was gone. Would she be missed? And what would happen to her friends and family, should she never return? Millete carefully pulled her back from the wall undoing her robes as they slid of her soft smooth skin.

She sat up awkwardly in her nakedness, wondering if leaving without goodbyes was the best thing to do... After all, Millete's parents loved and supported her during her entire lifetime; and her friends that she had known for so long had a right to know that she was leaving.

Millete felt calmer since the events of last night as she reflected on what had happened. She still harboured those unsettling and remorseful feelings lingering from yesterday, and Millete thought of the words she had said to Lily. Lily was in love and she took a chance, maybe in the wrong way, but it was certainly love, and love makes some people desperate.

Millete struggled up with deep-rooted pain still occupying the left side of her abdomen, and without further delay, she grabbed her cuboids and bank card from her bedside cabinet. With the squeaky drawer being carefully opened, Millete tried in earnest not to awaken her sleeping friends. Her voice came out in a hushed whisper as she spoke to herself.

"Please don't wake up, please don't wake up…"

The perfectly symmetrical cuboids that Millete owned were approximately an inch in each direction, with a circular red button in the center of one of the cuboid's six sides. The dice-like devices where similar to pokeballs, and worked on a similar principle. They where normally used by wealthy people and rich trainers to carry their clothes. Cuboids were rather handy for transporting purposes for individuals that did not want to be caught lumbering with a mountain of luggage.

She used exactly twenty cuboids to store her twenty sets of spare clothes. Millete packed up her gear as quietly as humanly possible, all the while keeping a keen eye on Lily and Clare in case they awoke from her rustling. Reaching into her bedside drawer once more, Millete took out and stored her compact laptop in a cuboid; Rotom could charge it up if she did not have sufficient battery power.

Millete was pretty much all set, and the time to go had finally dawned. Her abrupt desertion of all she had come to know was something she could not come to terms with, just disappearing, so maybe a goodbye message would be more appropriate so her friends and family didn't worry too much. Somehow, Millete managed to creep through the mess of clothes littering the floor without making a sound. Her nimble feet not failing her, she successfully reached the bedroom's door.

Millete grasped the doorknob gently while placing her other hand against the wood of the door. She carefully twisted the brass knob to the left and pulled, all the while not making a sound. She kept her eyes peeled on her two friends, who looked like sleeping beauties, even though they were splayed out in awkward positions.

Opening the bedroom door all the way, Millete exited the room, but didn't close the door behind her; not yet. Giving one last fleeting glance at Nina, Lily and Clare through the open door, she gave them a love inspired final message in the quietest whisper.

"Farewell, I love you all… maybe in the future our paths will cross again."

She cautiously closed the door behind her in earnest, making little to no noise. Millete could feel the strings of her heart being jerked, feeling sick, as she was going to embark on a long journey without the company of her friends; a journey that she wasn't sure she would return from.

Still naked, she made a quick stop in her kitchen to grab her pokeball garter from where she left it on the counter. Millete retrieved them and placed the pokeballs on top of table, which was still littered with leftover food from the previous night

She needed to get dressed, taking her little denim hot pants and stringy vest from her tumble dryer, Millete quickly slipped into them. The olive skinned girl grabbed her garter from her table and with the pokeballs securely clipped in, she slid it up her to her thigh. Millete then hastily walked over to her shoe rack to find her most comfy walking footwear; finding her pink-laced sneakers, she quickly slipped them on. Reaching out, Millete snatched her low cut denim jacket from over a chair and proceeded to put it on, letting her arms slide through the sleeves.

There was a notepad situated next to a digital photo frame and phone, which she intended to write her farewell letter on. She curled her delicate fingers around a blue ballpoint pen situated next to the notepad and began to scribble a poem.

preDear Lily and Clare,

My loving friends to which I adore life with,

We have shared a very special bond.

You all have given me joy and pleasure. And if

things where different, I would never have come to the

decision that I am making today.

Something has happened which has changed

everything for me, and now I must go, and hopefully

I will return one day. Do not worry and do not

fear for me as I will be fine. Just promise me one

thing. Promise me not to fear the unknown,

and you shall all go out and live your dreams.

Farewell, I love you all more than you could ever possibly imagine.

Lots of love and kisses with marshmallows and sugar on top XOXO

Love,

Millete

P.S.- Tell my mom and dad I have gone to see my cousin Nina out of town./pre

Millete ripped the note from the pad, pulling it out carefully so the writing wouldn't tear. She knew it was corny and not very well thought out, but she knew it was enough to make her point. Her photo frame caught her eye. She stared at it a moment; the nine-inch LCD screen flashed photos of the past, changing every two seconds.

It was something she had all those cherished moments stored on, as it contained over five hundred special memories. The photos were compiled from the dares she undertook, to places she had visited on vacation, and from her parents to her best friends. Nothing could replace those moments in time. She felt obligated to take it. The sentimental value was simply too large for her to leave such a thing. Gingerly, she placed it into her open backpack filled with cuboids as quickly as possible, and zipped it shut.

Millete then picked up a drawing pin and pinned the sloppily written note to her door where it would be visible and least likely to be missed. She closed her eyes and gave a silent prayer meant for travellers, for Millete was about to embark on a journey bigger than her or her pokemon could possibly know; where it would eventually lead them, Millete didn't have the faintest clue. She stood in her home, alone, to savour the final moments of her normal life.

"On the journey ahead, and the journey to come, let you, Arceus be my guide and forever hold me true . . . Amen"

With the the prayer of the wayfarer incited, Millete started out of her front door; the sun had not even risen in the sky above- it was dark outside, but faint rays of light in the distance re-assured her that she would have a good start to the day. Just as she was about to leave, Millete felt a grasp on her arm as she took a step. She felt shock and surprise running through her body. Was she caught?

Millete turned around to see Lily standing there. There was a silence between them; her letter was firmly clenched in Lily's hand as tears ran down her face. She was stark naked standing in the door frame. Her sleek jet black hair untidily tied up a high pony tail with a black ribbon. It looked well slept in, with a few stray strands cascading down her face. Unknown to Millete, Lily had not slept all night, but rather secretly watched over Millete without her realizing. She had been awake the entire time.

Lily looked sternly at Millete with a hurt expression on her face before asking her,

"What's the meaning of this? Where the hell are you going, and why?"

Millete didn't know what to say, as the truth would not sit well. She had no intention of telling her.

"I'm leaving, so don't make this more awkward for me then it already is, just let me go, and don't make this to turn into a commotion."

Lily was upset a little further by Millete's words; they seemed solid and cold as if she meant to go through with this, and Lily could see that particular determination in her face that she knew so well- she couldn't stop Millete now. After knowing her all these years, she could tell that this was the same look she got when she had her mind set on a dare or something serious. Lily asked,

"It's useless to talk you out of this, I guess, but are you leaving because of what happened last night?"

Millete shook her head.

"No . . . It's something greater than I can tell, and something I just can't share. Not even with you. I just wanted to say that I forgive you, I mean, how can I stay angry at you? I realize that I overreacted when you only wanted to show me that you loved me; later I felt very flattered to know that my best friend, someone I care for so much would have such feelings for me, but I only see you as my best friend and the line is drawn there… I'm sorry."

Millete paused a moment; baring witness to the emotional strain that Lily was being burdened with, tears welling up in Millete's eyes in the presence of someone that gave her solace all her life. The strong willed tanned girl put up a brave face, as she held back the flood gates, trying not to be weak in the moment and collapse to Lily's persistent pursuit.

"But why? Can't we just give it a shot and see how it goes?"

Millete spoke sternly, enforcing her views like an immovable mountain, but at that very moment exerting herself not to be unnecessarily bitter toward her.

"I'm sorry if that hurts you, but that's just the way it has to be: there can't be a future for us, as I don't share the same feelings you do. It's not the reason why I'm leaving, but rather something else that I may explain one day. But that day is not today."

Lily quietly accepted Millete's agonizing reply, but more the further the conversation persevered the more the questions raged in her soul as to why she was leaving her. She inquisitively searched for answers in Millete's face, mapping the contours and ridges with her eyes, with adamant pursuit of answers that where left dormant.

"Why this, and why all of a sudden? Can't it wait, and why are you sneaking around? Are you really in so much trouble or something? I want to help! Please… just tell me?"

Millete could feel herself becoming further drawn to anger but mostly through pain, raising her voice a little to put a stop to this.

"Drop it! I can't tell you, and that's all there is to it!"

Lily tried to push a little harder for any hints that could perhaps leave her soul at peace. This can't be left as it is, her skin boiled not knowing why she had to go, she asked with another attempt fuelled with unrelenting determination.

"I love you and will do anything for you, just don't leave!" Lily pleaded. "We can be friends and I'll be happy with that as long as you stay; we'll work through it no matter what it is, just you and me together."

Millete hung her head low her eyes shifting across the ground, refraining from eye contact while to avoid any tears from showing, as this was beginning to hurt her further past the stern figure she appeared to be. Millete's heart started to thud like a beaten drum, and with the ferocity of a ram against her burdened chest, she snapped at Lily like an erupting volcano.

"Stop your droning, I don't want you involved; we CANNOT work through it together and I'm not staying here. So stop right there and don't even begin to plead with me, 'cause I know what's coming next. If you even try and get down on your knees to beg, I swear I'll kick you in your face."

Lily took an anxious breath and replied,

"I know you well, so I already realize that I can't talk you out of this... But, please, will you at least tell me where and why you are going?"

Millete spoke with a cold edge in her voice, with full intent to kill the conversation.

"The answer is no: you're sounding like a broken record. Damn it, Lily, you just can't take a hint, can you? If you have something to say, then say it now, but it better not be a why or where question. I need to leave soon."

The only questions running amok in Lily's mind had to deal with the words "why" and "where". She looked deep inside herself to find some words that might give her best friend hope. Lily leaned forward, grabbing Millete and holding her to her chest; she whispered softly into Millete's ear,

"I thought a simple hug would speak better then words…"

Millete could feel Lily's bosoms through the fabric of her shirt against her own. She could feel the heavy thuds of Lily's chest matching the rhythm of hers. Millete gave a soft kiss to Lily's cheek with the last words,

"I'll be fine- I promise." Millete pulled away, smiling. "I won't forget you or the memories we shared, but just remember one thing- I will come back one day, and then we can start having fun again. Sound good?"

Lily giggled, trying to be strong.

"Sure, but when you come back, could I get to screw you with a strap-on, maybe?"

Millete glared at her with an evil eye.

"Not the sexual type of fun, you dumbass! Don't push it, you're ruining the moment."

Lily's eyes slowly descended down to Millete's amazing legs as her eyes locked onto the sexy red and black garter around her thigh. It had three minimized pokeballs which indicated they where inhabited. Lily felt curiosity: how and when did she capture or steal them? She inquired hesitantly,

"Hey, are those pokemon? How did you get them?"

"Yes . . . .they are. . . . . . I got them back in the Forest.

"I'm surprised you caught your first pokemon and never told anyone. Well done, I knew you would get a pokemon one day! But you seem to have gotten three, and I'm really happy for you. But they probably are not strong right? . . .I just would feel better if . . . ."

Lily reached up to her short hair, which was tied scruffily, unclipped something, then placed her hand forward, revealing Machamp's miniaturised pokeball.

"Hey, I want you to take Machamp with you."

This gesture caught Millete of guard.

"I can't accept this, he's yours!"

Lily started to show frustration in her voice, then a little anger.

"Take him- I insist. And it's not forever, just till you come back! He's strong and will protect you; he's superior to other Machamp's, as none have his accuracy, which makes him far more deadly. He is able to strike at pressure points, and he also has other benefits like being able to assist in physical chores. It'll also make me feel better and give me some peace of mind that he is with you, so at least there's someone looking after you."

Millete sighed.

"Ok. . . ok I give, I'll take him . . . . . I will return him when I come back then, and I will tell you everything,. . .I promise, and another thing, get some clothes on, you'll catch your death in this cold ...And thank you."

She gingerly took the pokeball from Lily's hand, accepting it. She did not know where her road might take her, but at least Nina, Lily, Clare and her parents wouldn't be dragged into this.

Millete turned her back and began her walk, the suppressed tears released as she began to cry. She walked down the cobbled garden path, opening the black gates that lead out onto the village streets. She did not look back, she only had her sights set forward, as there was no turning back now. This was the way she was, once she has made up her mind, she had to accomplish anything and everything she had originally set out to do.

Lily stood in the door frame watching her best friend, and only love walk away. Hoping Millete would turn back, Lily thought to herself, 'If she turns back now, does that mean she secretly loves me like I love her? Oh, please….'

Millete kept walking: she didn't turn her head back. This to Lily meant nothing other than Millete didn't love her the way she did... Lily spoke out with words that bared origin from within her recesses of her aching heart, a light voice that was only audible in its hymn to herself.

"I guess you're not gonna turn. You don't love me after all; I was stupid to think so all these years. You spoke of finding love so many times, and you spoke of that perfect person you would fall for one day, and I thought I had all those qualities. I thought that person would be me . . . . . . .I was foolish, but I hope you find that love, Millete."

Millete never looked back, it was now her drifting past. She observed the scenery and the village houses as she passed them, noticing things about the buildings that she hadn't noticed before. Her eyes took in the beauty of the small, peaceful village. The houses and cottages where coated in thick magnolia and black painted window ledges. It was so undeniably boring, but in the same instance it was serene. Every villager seemed to follow the trend for the decades that passed.

Seeing things that she would not usually waste time taking in, she did in this moment, transfixed in new light. Even smallest things like how Milktanks and Tauros roamed freely around with their herder, which was a relaxing sight. Tauros freely granted help to the farmers to plough the lands and sow the seeds for the harvests. This place was so rural, so . . . .home.

She wanted to remember the village as it was in this moment and for all the life it had given her. She saw it for a first time as the most beautiful place in the world. It was maybe because it would be her last time here her feet would grace these soils. Millete took in the tranquillity of the village, which she had often taken for granted. No crime or violence had plagued her town during the entire course of her life whilst living there; Millete now knew there was no other place like this. Or at least for her.

Her feet carrying her on a road out into the outskirts of the village, she bared a final look around the sweet evergreen pastures, and the vibrant trees with pink blossom leaves, which retained color and youth even throughout the winter season. They sparkled with a thin layer of shimmering frost; it was as if they where laced with diamonds. The leaves would fall and die out in any other place but Forbest. Everything was perfect here, and this was a remarkable place.

Yet in the turmoil that was going through Millete's mind, she wanted to be earthed into the ground like the trees that she had passed by, but she knew that she was not meant to be rooted here, as her quest lay elsewhere. She had reached the point where the borderline of Forbest ended. Her nostalgic walk had finally come to a halt. Millete's road through the reminiscence of Forbest Village had ended.

She pondered about herself; there was a void she carried around inside her, as it always remained unfulfilled…why wouldn't it go away? If she were a tree and part of mother nature would she still feel the emptiness? What was missing that needed to be there? Millete continued to wonder why she had always felt so incomplete. Would she feel like this when she died? Millete took a glance back over her shoulders out of respect, something she rarely would do when her sight was set forward, and spoke out to the land she was leaving, and her home.

i'I won't forget you, Forbest, for you are my morning, my evening, my mother, my father, and my joyous memories. I promise that I'll carry you in my thoughts wherever my path might take me.'/i

She turned to face the path which lay ahead, to carve her stamp into the world that awaited her, and the journey ahead, to begin the adventure to whatever unknown obstacles life could throw her way. It would be a long hike to Pallet Town, and the transport system didn't run on Sundays, therefore an arduous walk would ensue. All of the money Millete had in her well-invested bank account seemed useless when it couldn't get her to where she needed to be.

Millete wouldn't admit defeat so easily without a fight; she knew it would be a difficult and almost impossible task to oppose Darkrai, but she refused to believe in fate. Fate was nonsense, a device that that people used to make believe that they didn't have control over their lives. Were they too blind to see that they could change their future based on their actions?

There was a way to stop Darkrai; there had to be, and Millete resolved to fight on with dogged determination until she found the monster's weakness. And if Millete was correct, the key to his downfall lay stored in Pallet Town within Professor Oak's lab…

She had been a student there and also a personal assistant to Oak up until last year, so she knew the layout inside out having roamed all those corridors so many times. There was a wealth of knowledge that was stored there and that is where she will start. If she does not protect her friends who will? Darkrai has god like powers and not even Cresselia has managed to put an end to him. What chance does she have? Regardless of the state of things, someone has to.

**To be continued…**

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_**Parting words -**_This chapter is to set up the non stop action which will follow in the next chapter and I hope you stick around for the adrenalin ride that is to come. Please leave reviews and feedback as its really appreciated, and all is welcome.


	3. Chapter 3 The Insinuation Of Knowledge

**The Legend Of Millete**

_**~Chapter 3~**_

**Insinuation of Knowledge**

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The young girl faced her path, every criminal starts somewhere, and many villains never hope to be caught. . . . . .

The blistered orange glow of the settling sun cast out its reclining array of dieing light, which cascaded across the clouds, seeming shapeless as they traversed the sky in their ever shifting forms . The coldness of the air creeping upon her, passing a sensation over her skin which made her cringe.

Life had placed her in a impossible situation, having dealt her a bad hand. She knew this dire path could lead her to a inevitable end, but when you have a hand such as this, you can fold and concede in defeat, or know its time to play it to whatever avail. There was no time for regrets, she was here and this was now or never.

The gap of the vacant empty field before her, seemed like a moment frozen in the abyss of time, the grass stood still, no wind to even make them dance, only the chill of the evening to keep them standing like the hairs on the back of her neck. The slender focused female stared ahead, over the motionless field, to the facility she sought to infiltrate and extract the data which she came to lay claim to.

Her keen sight visualising each step which she must undergo to accomplish this task, her strategic plan flawless. Nothing could compare to the calmness to pre-meditate upon matters of such impetuous and reckless actions which are required for her to filter through the security, protecting the confidential information inside this impenetrable laboratory.

It contained a wealth of knowledge, secluded from the eyes of the world. The secrets that reside within its walls, dwarf the knowledge of any one person, and enough to outlast a lifetime reading them. Some may call it the nerve centre and focal point of every bit of information that has ever been gathered about Pokemon.

Finally the time has come. Her body was fit and agile, and her attire was well suited for this kind of thing. Her cooled caramel like skin radiated a bronze glow from the final rays of sunlight that captured its subtle complexion. The female reached with eager fingers, leisurely down to her firm thigh, to her exotic black and red customised garter. Small miniaturised Pokeballs which where clipped in, elegantly and with grace. Her fingers curl around three Pokeballs, drawing them into the rapture of her soft embracing hand.

The calm she felt earlier had expired, she was about to betray the person, who only had admiration for her and adored her. A guide and mentor to her in uncountable ways. It almost sickened her, to be contemplating these ill deeds. If she could have it any other way, she would have not have been so compelled to submit to such a underhanded exploit. She had to start somewhere, a journey of a thousand miles, starts with the first step, and with this first step, she wanted to boldly take it with the intent to continue.

Her hand swung like a pendulum three times, with each pass expelling a pokeball from within her grasp

"Rotom . . . Mismagius . . . .Duskull"

A bleached white light, illuminated the darkness of the field with the expulsion of their luminescence across the grass. Three loyal and willing servants and followers, wavered, and afloat in the air before her. Their will defined, and their conviction to follow her to the end of the world unquestionable, awaiting their commands and yielding to her dominance, as their mistress.

"The stage is set. . . . . Rotom set the pace. You know what to do"

Rotom cocked his head up making eye contact, she stared back into his ardent eyes. Sparks bolted from the whites of his propitious eyes to his dilating pupils, as his body began to charge in preparation of his assault.

"Yes, Mistress" he responded with a almost robust, electronically synthesised voice that crackled in static. The trust they shared was absolute, and unified regardless of knowing each other such a short period.

His intelligence and understanding of what was expected was profound and solidly embedded in his mind. No further words needed to be exchanged, he understood perfectly. Electricity arced from what is the plasma retained mass of his body, to the earthed ground below, propelling him upwards, like a violent surge. Ascending with great velocity, towards the live power lines that fed raw voltage to the facility.

A silent momentary pause, befell the assortment of mismatched individuals, who awaited for the power to be cut. They watched with eagle like eyes at the spectacle of multiple sparkles, and glittering lights created in the sky, before the power lines came crashing down, flailing and thrashing around on mother natures soil

The external security measures had now been made redundant, and dysfunctional. Leaving only the internal back up generator active for inner defensive precautions, which where in place to safeguard against would be intruders like her.

"Now Mismagius!" She ordered with urgency in her voice

The incorporeal cloaked being ran his purple phantom hands under her dainty arms, hoisting her body up and granting her flight. His body gained forwards momentum, accelerating her towards the bulk warehouse storage entrance that is the back end of the laboratory. Duskull followed in formation directly behind, flanking the rear, as they moved like a small stealth convey across the inanimate field. The weight of her backpack causing little to no problems for Mismagius.

The destination had been reached, Mismagius relinquished his hold, letting the brazened tanned beauty, plummet a couple of feet to the steady tarmacked terrain, squatting as her feet embraced upon impact. She stood upright anchored once more to the immovable earth in which she stood. Rotom steadfastly rejoined her, taking her left side devotedly with his objective accomplished.

She gazed at sheer metallic shutters that where reinforced made from a steel and iron alloy, folded many times like a well crafted blade. It comprised of dark black vertical chain stiles and horizontal plate rails, inky grey tinges met upon orange rustic edges where each horizontal rails ended. There are also high impact resistant plastics lined within. It provided protection against all kinds of elemental and physical damage, and is three inches thick. The shutters opened and closed with motorized controls, located beyond the exterior.

Rotom had a ability to pass through objects just like Duskull and Mismagius, however he achieved it differently by using the object like a conductor to pass his charged bio-molecular make up through various materials. The plastics within the shutters would prevent him to pass through in this case, acting as a insulator, making his ability redundant and docile. Millete was full aware of this and this is why she is incorporating Duskull into her plan now.

Millete nodded in confirmation to Duskull giving him the go ahead to proceed into the next step of the penetration of the facility. He took his position as Rotom converged at his rear aligning himself ready to proceed. His hand cascaded down onto Duskull's shoulder, who began his transition into astral form taking Rotom along for the ride.

The two spectral embodiments faded away and advanced, phasing through the minor obstacle before them. Millete folded her arms tapping her finger against the denim fabric covering her arm in earnest. In due time noises like some mechanical activity could be heard coming from inside the shutter. Something is moving inside, gears and levers can be heard grinding against each other. The shutter becoming functional, and slowly raising with a rusty screeching sound, like it had been left neglected and lacked a decade worth of maintenance.

Rotom had done it! He successfully managed to bypass the security protocols and re-write parts of software, allowing him to utilise the shutter controls without the need for a biometric card which was required to operate it.

There was a sudden leaden cracking and tearing sounds as the shutter jammed, and stalled only a foot and a half above the ground. The gears inside could be heard straining and crippling under the pressure. She knew it was going to give! Millete rapidly hunched down getting onto her front, using her elbows to crawl and drag her weight under the shutters hastily, and with urgency.

No sooner had she made it through, the shutter buckled under the insurmountable tension of its own weight, that it was subjected to. Gravity brought it thundering down. She had cut it really fine this time, her life could have expired in that abbreviated moment. The shutters themselves probably weighed a couple of tons at least.

She looked ahead seeing Rotom had failed to pull up the brake lever, no wonder the shutter broke! The plan did seem flawless but their execution of this was becoming lousy. Such miscalculations, errors, and neglect could cost them dearly. They could be forgiven, they where not pro's nor had they any experience, having never done anything this demanding, or on a scale next to this. But any further cock-ups would mix into a recipe for disaster.

She pushed her body of the floor making use of athletic abilities, as her body swivelled thrusting her legs upwards, landing firmly and elegantly on her feet. She eye'd the control panel asking Rotom

"A little more care next time! . . . .Regardless of that, can you gain access from here to disable security or get to the central computer?"

A Message flagged up on the small LCD display on the control panel

'Sorry this is not possible, this is a isolated console with its own generator. It sends a signal to the central facility's alarm only'

"I anticipated just as much, very well lets move on" she commanded in a cool calculated tone

Millete strolled down towards the next set of doors cautiously, taking each step taken with with careful deliberation. Her pupils scoured from corner to corner of her whites, for unsuspecting surprises that may lurk in some unforeseen corner. She managed to get to the Arcadia doors, they have a rectangular glass frame, two sheets of glass which where its doors, mounted adjacent to each other which partitioned down the centre, and slid open fixed to tracks they glided along. Any damage to them would just trigger the alarm system. This obstacle was a little different, it was manually unlocked quite primitively, with a key.

It was clever on Oaks part to impliment this, as it provides an inexpensive, method of authentication for access to the inner facility. Most keys consist of two parts the blade, which slides into the keyway of the lock. They differentiate and distinguishes between different keys. The seconds part is the bow, which is left protruding so that torque can be applied by the person using it. In this case it was a four sided cross key with small bolts along the teeth, and could prove problematic for even Mismagius.

"Mismagius!"

"Miss miss miss" He replied darting forward eagerly

Mismagius extended his reach through the locking mechanism as his hand faded away through the lock. His fingers nimbly worked laboriously finding it a little difficult. She waited a moment as he diligently cracked on with his task. The door gave a few clicking sounds as it unlocked, while this was happening Rotom defused himself with the control panel to rejoin the team, as they are reunited again.

Millete jammed her fingers within the small opening between the doors which presented itself once the doors where unlocked, she praying them open letting them slide to either side of her, parting them down the centre, usually with the real key the glass pane doors would do this using a automated algorithm, which was activated upon keyturn. Which calculated how many people, and the radius in proportion to the ratio of how much it needed to open.

She stepped through accompanied by her faithful familiars

"Good . . . . . only this corridor remaining and those cast iron bulk doors way down there"

Millete making another command, but this time in a warm tone filled with affection

"Duskull its time for you to do your fog trick cutie pie, I need cold vaporised condensation just like we discussed earlier" she gives him a adorable little wink for incentive bringing him to blush.

Duskull felt himself filled with motivation, opening his mouth expanding his orifice in service to his mistress, using it as his weapon drawing air in, as he inhales looking almost as if he is inflating like a balloon. His lungs filling to match the need of the skill that's about to be employed. He forcefully exhales, as cold gusting air blows out in plumes of dense misty fog, which flows gradually down the wide spacious corridor making all the laser trip wires visibly see-able. Amidst their coldness, the thin water particles are not enough to interrupt the infra-red laser beam but enough to make them appear before her as a awkward grid of red meshed lines.

"Your so chillingly good at this, great job your awesome"

She knew it sounded cheesy but sometimes she could not resist a bad line when the opportunity to use one, presented itself. Duskull wavered, cutely red in the face, becoming bashful. But before they continued, she needed to make the others aware of something vital.

"Careful, I'm not too sure about this. I was only told about this part of the lab, while Oak bragged about how wonderful his security was . . . . . He did mention that there is concentrated Bulbasaur pollen in compressed cannisters, that are based on a pressurised delivery system,. They will be triggered if any of the laser lights are broken, you need to take it easy Duskull, there's no pressure, take your time" time was something they did not have, but she did not want Duskull to screw up, but she did want to make him aware of the risk, less he be reckless

Duskull closes his eyes stretching out his arms before him, he commences to manipulate the condensated air around the beams, his mind and body converging into one, with appeased balanced karma. His chakra points opening channelling his cold, his heart quickening as a faint white aura engulfs his hands, the air around them clearly vibrating, and radiating outwards towards the beams. The water molecules in the air slowly start to solidify into a arch slowly but surely starting to redirect the laser beams above them, displaying his unsurpassed mastery of ice, which could easily be on par with the legendary Articuno.

"Keep going your almost there, you can do it, just a little more"

His control of the element wowing Rotom and Mismagius, leaving them at a amazed stand point, as a gargantuan glacial tunnel begins to take shape in its architectural supremacy. Millete felt her breath taken away, she knew he could divert the lasers, she had full faith in him, but this is something else, it by far transcended her expected. A little encouragement goes a long way. The ice tunnel was final complete, it was beautifully magnificent. Duskull's body keeling over in the air as Millete raced below him jumping and reaching out as the frozen floor met her knee's helping her to glide along the icy surface, Duskull safely falling into her warm embrace

She excitedly expressing out her emotions in a impressed and enthusiastic voice

"You did it, you are unbelievable you know that?"

She honestly felt she could not compliment him enough. He coyly rolled his face over to the side in embarrassment, at his mistresses appraisals. His body shook and twitched from the effects of using something of this magnitude, it had clearly taken his body beyond its limits as he blacked out in the protective comforts of her arms, extensively drained from the formidable arduous task

"Rest now, Duskull. . . . ."

Her mellow words residing in his slumbering ears. Millete cherishes her Duskull dearly, embracing him to her soft bosoms, reassuringly keeping him close to her heart, letting him know he did good.

Rotom and Mismagius rush with worry beseeching their souls. Frantically coming to the aid of their companion, concerned deeply about his well being, as they help the golden skinned maiden to her feet

"He's ok, don't worry, the little guys just tuckered out"

Millete continues down icy tunnel stumbling here and there, but her balance held. She gazed in awe at the beams of light that are flowing over their heads, in long pillars of ice embedded within the frozen depths depths of its wall, she marvelled for a brief moment. Carrying her Duskull tenderly in her arms.

The tunnel came to a eventual end with the cast iron door becoming their final obstacle. There was no way to hack any control panel as it was beyond the bulk doors which where located on the other side of the corridor in the main computer chamber. The doors themselves impervious to astral or electrical penetration, due to a sub field that was warping through the centre of the doors. Her heart quickening. The digits from her appendage extracted two miniaturised pokeballs from the garter, erotically situated at the upper quarter of her thigh, drawing the balls up pertinently.

The quick blistering light envelops Duskull recalling her exerted friend back to the safe sanctuary of its resting place, swapping him out for Machamp. A hulking four armed colossus appeared in his muscular glory, a powerhouse of raw brute strength. His orange Mohawk stood up in vibrant decor, in the ridges below his eyes a thin black tribal strip ran along the contours of his lower eye lid, his brows pierced with a bar bells towards the outer corners of his face. A tribal tattoo of black circular swirls that ended in sharp edges adorned his ripped left pectoral muscle, as it spanned across his fibrous flesh over his defined shoulder, and down his powerfully well built arm, finally ending at his forearm.

He took a short disorientated gaze at Millete in confusion, deliberating as to why she is in possession of his Pokeball. Millete could see his bewilderment, prudently giving him a short explanation

"I know this must be confusing but your mine now! Lily gave you to me, to watch and protect me, I don't really have time to explain but I need your help"

He gave a look that begged the question, what would compel mistress Lily do such a thing? She inexplicably loved him unconditionally, he was more than just a pokemon to her, he was undeniably her friend. He flexed his muscles and stretched them out, putting those thoughts on the back-burner for now.

"Your so strong, big boy, mmm wanna give me a hand opening those doors for me, they are kinda in my way"

Her voice so smooth and seductive, and her aroma so startlingly potent, he felt obligated to assist and impress. His ego filled eagerness to help his new mistress. His lower set of arms reach out audaciously, seizing her by slender waistline, raising her up and effortlessly placing her to one side.

"Why thank you! I just love brutes when they are so willing to man handle lass and help out!"

She luscious lips pucker, blowing him a little kiss in gratification to his services. She seemed to have developed a flirtatious nature with her pokemon. His focus then being drawn back to the task, fixating his attention now on the cast iron doors, which stood between them and the main computer chamber.

He stood square on with them, as he drew back all four mammoth arms, his hefty shoulder muscles contracted, as his chest rippled, before Millete could stop him, all four arms swung forward like a battering ram with insurmountable herculean strength. The destructive force tearing the frames of away from the walls themselves, shaking the foundation of the complex in the process. The shrapnel, metal clusters and torn plaster with brick was sent hurtling across the floor of the inner chamber floor, bouncing from the impact till they came to a halt

"Damn it Machamp!You muscle bound idiot! I told you to open them, not go all 'hulk smash, hulk bash!' Do you know your actions have jeopardised our success rate and endangered us all?"

"Intruder Alert . . . Lock Down Initiated . . . .Intruder Alert . . . .Lock down initiated . . . ."

The irritating computerised female generated voice being broadcast out of the wooden wall mounted speakers. The annoying ringing surrounding them in a ear piercing high pitched continuous squealing, filled the lab complex

Machamp's irresponsible display of his inappropriate macho bravado and strength triggered the alarm and lock-down security procedure. His rash actions, and eagerness to please landing the crew in a critical situation . . . . . . . .

_Knowledge, comes with the perseverance of time_

_And with knowledge, unfolds wisdom_ - Zana Bashir

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Notes to clear up why it was planned this way and why did she not do certain things -

Question -Why could Duskull not pass Millete through?

Answer- Millete could not get Duskull to also pass her body through, as the human body make up is too dense and she had too much mass for his powers to effect such a large area. Rotom's body make up is looser and because he is part ghost it is also thinner.

Question 2- why did Rotom not use the control panel of the shutter to take him directly to the main room?

Answer - This is because each panel emits a connection on a radio analogue frequency not a digital signal due to the limitation he can only infiltrate if he could pass as a currant along lines and so on, or manipulate it digitally, he has no way to modulate or demodulate a signal or data from where he was as it all worked of remote analogue sourcing. Each outlet through out the facility is isolated, and It is on wireless connected to the central network. He would need first-hand exposure to directly interface with the central main computer..

This is the pokemon AU I created and my laws may conflict as I will use what I feel fits with the story and not that of predetermined origins, also there is no law which decides on the limitations of 4 skills per pokemon here, what they do in my story is determined by pokemon type, but I will use many pre-existing rules to keep the die hard reader happy


	4. Chapter 4 The Conception Of Escape

~Equinox~

~The Legend Of Millete~

Chapter 4:

The Conception Of Escape

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Temperaments and emotions were riding high, a glare that harboured an icy cold look, directed at Machamp. The feeling he got from it was unmistakable, it felt like her stare itself would rip his soul from the fabrics of his mortal body. She was less than impressed with his act of bravado, and he himself felt the shame and disgrace fall upon him in return. He hung his head low to evade her gaze, those dreadful eyes, resenting his action. After a few seconds passed, Millete let a lamented sigh pass through her lips as she threw her arms up into the air in resignation.

"Damn it… I'm sorry Machamp. What's done is done," she muttered in apology regarding her earlier insult. The pokemon nodded his head in acceptance. Satisfied, she turned to Rotom. "Alright Rotom, it's time to get what we came for. We're going to have to be quick about this and beat it before we get busted by the cops."

Before the crackling electric ghost Rotom could respond, a computerized female voice began to play over the facility's voice intercom.

"Warning: lockdown initiated. Please remain a clear distance from all sealing windows to prevent injury." The voice then began to repeat itself droning on. The hallway, now awash in an ominous red from the emergency lights, began to emit strange screeching noises. High-pitched alarm bells began to ring.

Millete's hearing caught hold of the sound's she was being bombarded with, her sight shifting around the room. Flat sheets of a dull, greyish metal had begun to rise from the bottom of each of the hallway windows' dusty frames at a very rapid pace. Almost immediately reaching the top, the window barriers made a metallic ichink/i as they locked into place at the top of the window frames, effectively sealing off any easy exits.

Time was obviously fleeting and every second was precious. Not wasting another second, Millete pressed onwards with haste, taking gallant long strides to the computer terminal with her pokémon trailing not far behind her. Her eyes came to rest upon the facility's main computer core.

Millete flew into action, swinging her back pack around from her shoulder and catching it smoothly with a swift movement of her hands, and unzipping it.

She took a moment to assess what was laid before her. The monolithic contraption was approximately eight by three foot high and situated in the corner of the room, complemented by a central six by four foot plasma display monitor that was mounted to back wall directly above it. Small buttons and switches on the front end of the large box-like terminal glowed dimly with colors ranging from red to blue. In front of the computer laid a furnished oak arm chair. It was rather old-fashioned looking in comparison to everything else.

Shaking her head to jostle herself from her observational trance, she quickly removed a small grey cube that was marked 'Computer Stuff' in neat handwriting. Cubiods were high-tech devices that worked on the same principles as pokeballs; items could be stored inside the tiny device and was able to be contained or unpacked at the user's convenience just by pressing a small button located at the device's midsection. They were more or less a luxury for the upper classes.

Her hard drive materialized into her hand. In the blink of an eye she fiercely rammed the USB connector into a vacant port on the monolithic terminal. No sooner had Millete done this than she tossed her back-pack over her shoulder to Mismagius. The pokemon snatched the incoming bag reflexively.

"Here. . . . . take this, and fill it with anything that maybe of use to us, Press the button on those cuboids to zap things into them. You only need to press the button and point it at the item ok?"

Mismagius gave a lopsided grin and nodding then deftly swung his body around jutting away as he shot off. The purple phantom moved in rapid bursts as he scurried from desk to desk, rifling and rustling through draws and shelves. He began to pillage and ransack the chamber, for whatever he could find.

The user interface menu's came up on the large display, as her loyal servant Rotom, placed his hands upon the control panel, his body glowing lustrously, and in a breadth of a second innovatively amalgamating himself into the control panel analogue, becoming one with it. Rotom easily established primary control of software and hardware features, and access to the data archives stored within.

_iSecurity breech! Inner defences level 2 security __protocol__ in progress! Security breach- unauthorized computer access detected!/i_

Deafening roars coursed forthwith throughout the laboratory, and the air reverberated around them. The nightmarish sound brought forth involuntary jittery shakes flooding into Millete's being like a small tremor causes small stones to leap. If there actually was a Cerberus guarding the gates Hades then this is surely what he would sound like. They all could hear it, the abrasive sounds of shuffling feet signifying that they were greater than one in number, from a fair distance away, but incoming fast. Whatever they were, they were making the ground at frightening pace. Something wicked had been unleashed . . . . .

Millete's soft hands trembled as she turned to face the giant monitor, and observed that the downloaded files had only reached one percent.

"I'm sorry mistress, but I'm transferring the files to the best of my ability- it will still take much time," Rotom's voice crackled from the monitor's built in speakers. She nodded slowly in nervous understanding.

In the growing panic that was overtaking the group, only Machamp appeared to be unshaken. Manoeuvring around the trembling heroine, the towering tattooed monstrosity lumbered through the computer room's door and down the hall as his feet shuffled through the debris that littered the ground. His body surged with adrenaline, and he hungered for the fight to come.

Swerving her head from the retreating Machamp, she glanced at the enormous monitor once more.

ciFile Download 4% -Complete Time Remaining: 10 minutes/i/c

"This is taking too long!" Millete cried. "Rotom, can you do anything else to speed this up?"

"Yes, Millete," he began, "I can overclock the systems processors. However, I must warn you- if I accidentally drive the computer beyond its potential, it will lead to a complete system failure."

She frowned. "So you're saying that if you push the system too far, we'll never get to those files."

"Yes."

"Do it," she said before running after Machamp. Sprinting down the dark hall illuminated from the warning lights' red glow, Millete could see the shadowed form of Machamp occupying the space where he had smashed through the metal door. Before long she was standing at the hulking Pokemon's side, staring at his face. "You don't have to do this."

His large hand came down and tightened on Millete's left shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze; his thumb extended in fortified confidence as he gave her a wink. The sound of the rapid footsteps had become very clear, sounding as if they were less than a hundred feet away.

Rotom's voice began to play over a few speakers that lined the hall. "Millete, you are not as hardcore as you lead the rest of us to believe. Immediate evacuation of the area is highly recommended." Millete picked up the almost undetectable humor in his electronic voice.

"I never said I was," she retorted. "And I'm not leaving Machamp behind."

Rotom's voice began to play again, except this time the humor was gone, replaced by an unpleasant icy seriousness. "If you die, you will be leaving iall/i of us behind."

Transparent fingers filled with swirling violet mists slid between her fingers, gripping her hand, and it was as if tranquillity had come and placed its touch upon her own. Her eyes closed for a moment, to embrace the calm, seeing the flowers she watered in her flowerbed, and the little banzai tree's she clipped and shaped as an extension of her creative soul. It gave her peace of mind. This touch felt the same as those moments lost in her past. Her eyes opened following the phantom hand. Shifting her head to her right she saw Mismagius, and his comforting gaze of reassurance.

The atrocious howls growing louder ….. drawing closer . . . . could only be described as the call of the Grim Reaper, and she was hearing it firsthand. Its bellowing resonance shattering her momentary calm, as if to say the storm had arrived now. She abruptly pivoted around with an abundance of anxiety, and saw Machamp's right foot slide back, grazing along the icy floor to take a side-on stance, for better balance and stability. He cocked his head to the left cracking his neck as he loosened up. His soul unwavering in the presence of their dark ferocity

The death like beasts at last came into sight, standing off against Machamp from about fifty feet away. Millete stared past her goliath defender to these hounds of hell. There where 5 of them. Pitch black matted fur coated the hellish creatures and glowed with a red sheen from the over head diverted lasers. Large pointed grey crescent shaped demonic horns adorned their skulls, the reds of their blood thirsty eyes hungering for a piece of their flesh. Their powerful jaws hung open salivating and foaming, lined with muscle tearing, razor sharp teeth.

These carnivorous beasts, like any other territorial animal, would protect their territory, but unlike any other, these would not withdraw or concede defeat by retreating. They would take things to the death, even their own. This was their realm, the domain of these bastardized creatures, and Millete had violated it. They would hold her accountable to no ends; not ceasing in their struggle until they had torn the intruder asunder.

Even if the odds were as unfavourable as this, in that bleak moment Machamp's excitement grew. He yearned for this, his craving consuming his better judgement. If there was any pokémon that maniacally lacked fear it was him. He stood firm, ready to wage his own war and pour out his wrath upon them.

The walls of the glacial tunnel restricted manoeuvrability, and limited the skills that could be utilised. The narrow passageway guaranteed that the battle would become more of a brutal slug-fest on a grand scale. The menacing beasts' greater numbers would ironically bring what little advantage there was to Machamp.

Two carnivorous Houndoom's placed their gaze forward setting their eyes on what stood between them and the intruder. Their powerful hind legs blasted into the ground launching them with blistering speed ahead of the pack to make the first strike. It was as if they knew they would get in each other's way if they attempted to attack in full force. Their intelligence was better than that of their wild kin. They launched into their feral assault with an incredibly fast flurry of powerful strides, charging Machamp head on.

The first of the Houndoom darted in with traversing steps and agile movements backed with great speed and ferocity, its jaws gaping wide with its eyes focused on tearing the flesh from Machamp's forearms. The second Houndoom let out a ferocious dark flame from its hellish mouth to distract Machamp, engulfing him in raw heat, Millete screamed out seeing her Machamp engulfed in flames, her voice rising to his ears even as all four arms ripped through the flames to the second Houndoom grabbing it by its jaws slamming them shut and causing its head to explode from the pressure of its own attack as its skull burst open, splattering the walls of the ice tunnel with a mess of skull fragments and bits of flaming, furry flesh.

Pain soon followed as the bite of the first Houndoom came hard piercing through his flesh, Shredding into his lower left forearm and latching on with its iCrunch/i attack.

Millete gasped, this was no Pokemon battle, this was like watching monsters ripping each other apart piece by gory piece.

Machamp raised his two upper arms clasping them together like a massive hammer, bringing it down with the devastating force of a wrecking ball, battering the Houndoom locked onto his lower arm, and sending it crashing onto the floor below. The ground cracked under the meteoric impact of the Houndoom's body. Machamp let out a horrific cry, and followed it with another hammering blow crashing down upon the injured death reaper with a thundering boom. The sheer force of the violent blow created a shockwave that flashed outwards to blow Millete's violet hair back. The Houndoom's body lay in the centre of the small impact crater that had been generated, with its ribs shattered and blood spurting out of its mouth.

Machamp looked down as the beast whimpered below him. Then Machamp brought swift judgement down on the creature with his heel. A loud, sickening crunch was audible as the Houndoom's head was smashed in.

Machamp's blood was beginning to run in small free-flowing streams descending over the muscular contours of his lower left forearm, dripping off the tips of his fingers, his veins ripped open. These Houndooms are Dark types, leaving no wonder as to why Machamp had survived the dark flame. Its effect was halved, fortunately for Machamp.

The three remaining Houndooms stared at each other unsure of their attack plan; this thing's a four armed savage! How the hell had Lily raised this thing? It was not a Pokemon trained for battle. It was a sick, killing machine. Millete's fear was rising; she was starting to fear her Machamp as well as the canines now. This was the first time she had witnessed him in battle and it terrified her.

The small pack of three remaining Houndooms where less by two now, but hardly deterred in the slightest. Their hesitation was merely caution, not fear. The Alpha male of the pack reclined its head back, growling, instructing the two others to charge.

_File Download 52% Complete. Time Remaining 3 minutes._

Two Houndoom's began their death charge at a high pace. There snarls an act of their dominant nature. They were fine tuned killing machines with only one goal and that was to kill. The first of the new duo stopped short, grinding to a halt and allowing the second Houndoom to use its allies back as a spring board, shooting for an aerial advantage

The monster descended into a special attack using iThunder Fang/i. Machamp raised his arms defensively as the bright light brought with it the painful jolt of an electrical discharge. Machamp back stepped, flinching enough for the first Houndoom to cover the ground between them as the beasts worked in sync. The Houndoom lunged in, swinging its tail, and placing the power of its hips behind it to carry more momentum. The iFaint Attack/i came in hard, blind siding Machamp. The force of the blow was enough to knock him sideways into the glacial structure that had been left behind by Duskull earlier.

The deep impact caused the ice to break and the tunnel to crumble. The lasers were interrupted, and, in an unfortunate turn of events, the trap that had been bypassed earlier was sprung, triggering the release of the compressed Bulbasaur pollen into the air. Things were beginning to look grim for Machamp. The Mohawk on the Machamp's head was a little singed and his big eyes were looking sleepy. What's worse, the pollen was not effecting the Houndooms, the only explanation that came to Millete was that they'd been inoculated against the effects. The green clouds were going to prove a real problem.

The Houndooms however didn't waste any time while the corridor was filling with the sleep inducing pollen. Machamp staggered to his feet with no intention of giving up as he lowered his bleeding arm, as though completely ignorant of his injuries, and grasped hold of a firm chunk of hard ice from the floor as the two deadly combatants rushed towards him, advancing like savage carnivores which sensed that their prey was weakening, confident of success.

Machamp drew his heavy arm back for full power and gripping the large chunk of ice tightly till the last moment. Upon seeing the leading Houndoom open its mouth about to use its iFlame Thrower /i attack, Machamp throttled his arm forward in a burst of strength, rammed the ice block forcibly into the creatures mouth. Machamp raised a eyebrow knowing its too big to fit as he grabs it by the back of its neck with his free hand for leverage to force it right down its throat, dislocating its jaw in the process and fully forcing it down his orifice. The creature's throat tore open from the size of it, causing blood to squirt from its ruptured neck.

The second Houndoom, quick to seize the momentary opening, used iBite/i to quickly capitalise on the opportunity. Its teeth buried themselves deep into Machamp's flank as he lets out a grunt of pain. The four armed brute quickly utilized the corpse in his hand as a bludgeon, swinging it with full strength batting the latched houndoom from his body. The Houndoom was instantly knocked loose, but took a large junk of Machamp's flesh and part of a rib with it as it was sent bouncing across the floor.

Machamp's vision was becoming hazy, the Bulbasour pollen was taking longer to get through Machamp's system due to his size but it was affecting him gradually. The additional effects of the blood loss he was suffering were certainly not helping matters. The defender shook its head trying to focus as the Houndoom rose to its feet again. Just as sand wears away at a stone in the desert, even a mountain like Machamp was beginning to feel the effects of the taxing battle. The longer it was prolonged, the weaker he would become, and there was still the pack leader that had not intervened yet, watching on as his brood battled.

Machamp made his move while the Houndoom was still swaying unsteadily. He raced right up to it, and taking it into a head lock with its lower left arm in a vice like grip, he wrestled it to the ground. Both right fists began raining down punches on the canine's face. The houndoom suffered grievously from this heavy barrage, its jaw fracturing and its teeth and face beginning to get knocked back into its skull. Machamp continued the assault relentlessly, even as the skin over his own knuckles begins to rip and break. Machamp finally releases the Houndoom and straddles its body, towering over the half dead creature.

He reaches down to the sides and manages to pick up two chunks of rubble left over from the earlier penetration of the room, raising them over the Houndoom as it squirmed and fought its losing battle with death. Without hesitation, but with a manic grin, he began to bludgeon the Houndoom. He swung the rubble at its defenceless body, slowly annihilating the houndoom's skull, pounding it down into the ground as it wore away with each impact till only the gory stump of its neck remained. Machamp's lifted his eyes from the corpse, swaying a little as he himself was nearing death, and stared at the alpha male of the pack. Machamp laughed hysterically at the last remaining Houndoom. The fiery light of the bloodlust still shone from Machamp's eyes in spite of his wounds.

The Houndoom stared back at Machamp, its courage shaken by the monstrosity, clearly visible in the canine's body language, but like the others of his pack that died before his eyes he was not deterred. Regardless of the outcome, both combatants where willing to fight to the death.

_File Download: 74% Complete. Time Remaining: 2 minutes_

Machamp sluggishly began to walk through the cloud of Bulbasaur pollen toward the Houndoom. The Alpha male snarled at him, making the same slow movements towards him until both of them came to a stop a few feet from each other. This was going to be the decider. Machamp brought his bleeding fists together, cracking his knuckles, and loosening up for the main course.

The two titans glared at each other for a brief moment and sized each other up before the clash. Neither was willing to reconsider their position or back down. The Alpha male was not as weak as the others and he intended to set the bar for standard and avenge his fallen fledglings. There was a brief interlude of silence.

The roar came from the Houndoom as it erupted into an aggressive attack pattern weaving as he came in fast, staying low and nimble, combining his superior tactical advantage with i Shadow Rush./i Merely as a gesture of his superiority compared to the others Machamp fought. Machamp's eyes could barely keep up with the Houndoom's movements.

Out of the green gas came a tail side swiping quickly with thundering force. The hardened tail hit Machamp with such colossal strength that it swept him clean of his feet and sent him sideways out of view of Millete. Machamp crashed shoulder first into the side of the wall causing him to dislocate both right shoulders on impact.

The Houndoom smirked knowing he had the upper hand. He followed up his attack chasing straight after Machamp quickly enlisting i Fire Fang /i into his fold of moves, the flames lashed across Machamp's abdominal regions as the smoke spiralled over his body. The attack left a scorched horizontal black trail across his skin. Machamp was too proud to cry out in pain, only made to flinch, however the damage was more than he was letting on and restricted his battle abilities further.

With two arms out of commission Machamp swung his left arms in a small flurry of swings. The canine pokemon evaded the wild swings with ease, and then quickly countered with a iSmog/i attack, opening its ghastly mouth and engulfing Machamp in plumes of purple smoke to further hinder the Pokemon. The darkness surrounded him beginning to take its effect almost instantly, impairing his vision. Millete was growing further concerned for Machamp despite her small phobia of his brutality, after all he was her Pokemon.

The herculean pokemon felt his lungs begin to become inflamed making him wheezy. He broke in a small cough that splattered his lips with bloody spittle. He shook his head to clear his mind and focus again, and it then hit him that he had been poisoned with the last attack. He could not see the Houndoom any more as he desperately scanned from left to right. With his weakening sight it was becoming a dire crisis. Machamp rested his back towards the wall as he gasped for air, beginning to slowly loose out.

Then out of the cloud of purple a powerful paw burst through, the i Sucker Punch/i came just as the name of the move suggested. A dirty underhanded way to fight, smashing into Machamp's sternum like a battering ram. The attack sent him clear through the wall with its immense power. Bricks blew out around him and followed his body in flight before hitting the ground and tumbling to a stop.

Millete watched her Pokemon blasted into the room, she stared intently at him with tear ridden eyes. She could never have thought things would have turned out like this, and it was the last thing she wanted to see. She could see that his body was ripped up, torn, and burned as he lay there motionless. The bulbasaur pollen was beginning to flood into the room, and Millete knew she had to do something. She quickly tore some fabric from her top and hastily tied it around her head to cover her mouth.

She had always been kind hearted by nature, and just because she did not condone his methods was not enough reason to just stand there and let him meet his demise. She grabbed a steel pipe that lay in the debris, and raced over to Machamp, skidding to a stop by his body. She lowered herself, placing her hand firmly on his pectorals muscles where he was not injured, nudging him, "Wake up, please wake up?"

She looked up to see the Houndoom slowly saunter in. Her heart started racing, she did not want her pokemon to die like this. Her tears came heavier as she was overcome with sadness. This was all because of her. If she had never taken it upon herself to go on this crusade to stop the evil which would destroy her village, and chose instead to merely die then this would not have been Machamp's fate now. She refused to accept this as the end. She dropped the steel pipe and raised her fists as she beat down on his chest frantically.

"I can't do this without you! I know I'm scared of you, but you can't leave me! Please open your eyes!" Her words were desperate as she pleaded with the fallen brute who laid there bleeding and poisoned.

The Houndoom suddenly lunged towards Machamp. Millete's hand remained on her pokémon's chest, not knowing what to do. Her right hand reacted instinctively, snatching the steel pipe back up and with one powerful swing she sent the Houndoom soaring through the air with as much strength as any Machamp. She could hear the canine whimper as it flew from her.

The beast was sent sliding into a table fifteen feet away. The steel pipe in her hand had bent out of shape from the force of the blow. Her mind was unable to fathom the strength she just used, it was beyond human, it was pokémon. It was Machamp's. The Houndoom rose shakily, completely shook up and frowning in confusion, not understanding how that could have happened.

His eyes slowly focused on the olive skinned girl as he licked his chops. He was fixed on her now as he approached slowly. Millete screamed, dropping the bent pipe in her hand and began to back away from Machamps body. Scurrying backwards, she knew he was coming for her. It began closing in on her, stalking with a look of hunger, each step intimidating her further as her fear rose.

The canine creature was now right in front of her now. It made eye contact directly with her almost paralyzing her with its crimson eyes. His instrument of lust slid from its sheath as if its intent was to pass a judgmental sentence of rape before the kill. Its vile mouth slobbered, saliva and blood dribbling down its gluttonous tongue. Millete averted her gaze in disgust as she broke into a sweat. It was either going to fuck then kill or kill then fuck. She prayed for the latter.

Mismagius had kept busy with his orders as he zipped around raiding every nook and cranny for useful supplies. Then Mismagius looked around and realized that his mistress was in imminent danger. He made his way quickly towards the Houndoom but then halted in his tracks. The Houndoom stood frozen; its head impaled all the way through from behind with the bent steel pipe Millete had used earlier. Her eyes were locked with the now sightless eyes of the Houndoom. The steel pipe protruded from the Houndoom's mouth. She looked past the violated head to see Machamp gasping. The canine's limp body fell onto his front. Machamp wrenched the pipe out, forcing a jet of red to be sprayed like a scarlet geyser, staining the innocence of Millete's face with the blood of her aggressor.

i _File Download 99% Complete Time Remaining 1 minute/i_

However, Machamp did not stop. He started to pulverise the corpse, beating it into the ground. He could hear its ribs breaking, but with no regard for its dead status he continued his unsightly barrage on the Houndoom with a maniacal laugh. His lust for violence was that of neither human nor pokémon; it was that of a demon.

Millete felt sickened, and she fought to keep from retching. Her tears came heavier in her panic. She was in disbelief, raising her hands to her head cradling them as she closed her eyes. She was gasping and panting, her mind freaking out and unable to watch. She cowered as he blasted away. She repeatedly tried to tell herself this was not the same Machamp as Lily's special Machamp that she had been given. This couldn't be the loving creature her best friend had raised; this thing was a demon.

_i'File Download 100% Complete. Finalizing Data. Time Remaining 30 seconds./i_

"Machamp stop. Can't you see what you're doing to Millete?" Rotom broadcast out the speakers.

Machamp paused in his actions with the Houndoom's blood dripping down his forearms from his knuckles to take a moment to look at the girl in her frailty. The sight of her so terrified quickly brought him back to his senses. He couldn't believe what he had done to the one he was supposed to protect. He felt as though he was no better than those Houndooms.

_i"Houndoom second wave deployed. Houndoom second wave deployed. Houndoom second wave deployed."/i_

Rotom knew they could not escape the way they came and in the space of time Machamp had been fighting he had already devised a new plan of escape. It was actually more improvisation than anything else and completely unorthodox. He knew that pokéball travel for pokémon was readily used, and they were living creatures, however it was untested on humans but the theory still was solid.

The yellow phantom discharged himself from the machine, yanking the USB cable from the main computer, and hurling the hard drive to the purple spectre who quickly buried it into Millete's backpack before slinging it over his shoulder.

"i_File transfer complete,_/i" Rotom's synthesised voice crackled over the voice intercoms. Regardless of having left the computer he still had remote access for now, provided he remained in range. Seconds passed, and the yellow ghost appeared in the hallway, the ice surrounding it now beginning to melt. . Bright blue eyes assessed Machamp and the decapitated Houndoom corpse, Rotom hovered over to Millete.

"When you hit it earlier, the strength you used was more than what your body is capable of, mistress."

She said nothing and simply continued staring at the opposite wall blankly. The Houndoom's blood had seeped into her eyes, staining the whites a ghastly shade of red.

"However, on a more pressing note," he continued, "I have detected that Machamp's vital signs are rapidly failing. My advised course of action is to withdraw him to his pokeball; while he is in stasis we must get him to a Pokemon Center."

Millete didn't respond, locked in a vegetative state.

"Millete, you must overcome your delirium," Rotom persisted.

Nothing.

Suddenly, the same electronic female voice droned on again over the speakers reiterating its earlier warning.

i"Houndoom second wave defence force now within immanent contact range"/i

Acting quickly, Mismagius unclipped Machamp's pokeball from her garter, and withdrew the dying Pokemon. He cast a worried glance at the pokeball, and then at Millete. He then turned towards Rotom.

"Thank you Mismagius. Return to your pokeball; but first, I need your assistance in bringing Millete to me. And be quick- we don't have any time to spare," the electric ghost instructed.

Nodding, Mismagius slipped his arms under his mistress's and dragged her across the ground to Rotom, the melting ice and slippery blood easing the task. His job done, he fingered the button in the center of his pokeball that was still secured on Millete's thigh. In a flash, the purple ghost disappeared.

From Millete's bag, Rotom withdrew an item that Mismagius had picked up earlier: a master ball. After successfully bypassing the firewalls with literally less than a second to spare, he had recalibrated the circuits within the ball to accept human DNA and inanimate matter so the painstakingly earned research files contained within Millete's portable hard drive wouldn't be lost.

Hastily, Rotom slipped the backpack over the unresponsive Millete's shoulders and depressed the button in the center of the Pokemon-catching device. A red laser shot forward and engulfed his mistress, her pokéballs, and her backpack in a red light. There was a bright flash and the pokeball plopped to the floor just as five snarling Houndooms entered the corridor.

After fusing with the ball, Rotom shot through the air like a bullet and safely landing on the teleportation pad used for transporting pokéballs. Electricity arced from the pokéball he was in unison with, remotely dialling in the proper receiver code, which would leave the group safe at a Pokemon Center. Several large flames from the Houndoom's blasted towards him while Rotom was de-matrializing into data for transport.

The transportation machine melted from the heat of searing flames, and the hounds rushed towards it with snarls of pleasure. Then they stopped and began to look around with confused whines, unable to see the pokéball and wondering, where did it go?

There was a blinding flash of light as Millete burst out of her pokeball gasping and spluttering. She was seeing double as she tried to look around and get her bearings. It took a few moments for the floor to stop shifting. An overwhelming wave of nausea suddenly crashed upon her, and Millete fell to her knees, and retched violently. She was badly shaken, but she knew that she wasn't alone judging from the muted noise that filled the room.

After a minute of dry heaving, she looked up and saw many blurred faces staring at her intently; many looked human though there were a couple of Pokemon scattered amongst them. Millete's mind was speaking out but no words were escaping her lips. What were they staring at? Where was she? What had just happened?

Her face felt very hot and she occasionally took large, involuntary gasps of air. Was she in shock? Despite the obvious crowd in the room, she had never felt so afraid and alone.

Around her, people carried on with their conversations. Millete couldn't understand them but she could tell that the main topics of discussion regarded her. She feared the faint whispers belonging to the hazed figures- Millete felt as if she was on display at a carnival freakshow. The conversations continued:

"Did you see that?"

"Yeah."

"Never seen anything like it…"

"Can pokeballs even carry humans?"

"No."

"Then how was she in a pokeball?"

"She's not human!"

"What?"

"…She's probably a Ditto or something."

Suddenly, a slender pair of legs made their way into Millete's vision as a daunting shadow covered her kneeling form. From above, a female voice spoke out. "From my point of view, you look less than elegant when you're on your hands and knees."

Afraid for her life once again, Millete's eyes shifted back and forth nervously in their sockets… Had she finally been caught?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . To be continued

There is no crime, too small or great,

That can hide from justice, no matter the intention,

For the grievance it causes, it must be given retribution

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_**Ending Message-** _ Thanks once more for reading and please leave feedback, and comments. All are welcome!


	5. Chapter 5 Melodious Machine Gun Symphony

**~Equinox: Kanto~**

Chapter 5

Melodious Machine Gun Symphony

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Rotom briskly defused his body from the pokeball he had formed a unity with, and darted in front of Millete like the alpha male of a wolf pack ready to protect his pride. His small but fearsome form, creating a floating antagonistic stand off between this possible aggressor and his defenceless mistress.

"Don't you dare, wench. Any acts of hostility towards my Mistress will be met with appropriate retaliation in return." The tone in Rotom's voice was unusually aggressive and the static was distorting his words, but they were more than understandable. He assumed a firm aerial stance, making his position clear that he was not about to let any harm befall Millete.

The figure backed up a step, holding her hands in front of her, trying to show no hostile intentions were implicated by her actions. Her voice was familiar and concerned.

"Let me help her, you flying electric rodent. I'm not here to hurt your mistress, it would be the last thing I would do to my best friend."

Rotom knew he had not the strength to lift Millete to her feet, and Mismagius was also too tired in his pokeball, the only prudent course would be to allow the stranger to assist. He sensed no hostility coming from her, cautiously giving her the benefit of the doubt with a nod to go ahead, nonetheless he still kept a watchful eye on this person as she loomed over his beloved friend.

Millete stuttered and gasped trying to recover from the overexerting experience of pokeball travel. Her hazy vision was like the fluctuating changes of a kaleidoscope, but eventually began to settle, as the figure in front of her began to define in shape and edges. This stranger's facial structure eventually lathered into shape as her eyes came into focus.

A welcome face was what she saw, a friend and saviour to help her. Her hand was outstretched like a glimmer of hope that waited to be grasped. It was flowing down to her from someone who she was proud to call her best friend. It was Lily.

"Let me give you a hand up, you little pain in the ass."

Millete was still unsure of how Lily was out here, and in Pallet town. She mirrored Lily's action and reached up, taking her hand. She could tell something was off, but quickly dismissed it as it was Lily. She felt the firm grip of her hand, with a strong upward force Millete rose shakily, her feet took their human bipedal pride with Lily's hand guiding her onto what she felt was unsteady ground.

Even though Millete was not suspicious any more she was still very curious how lily was able to find her. Millete spoke out and again nothing escaped her lips but a passing of her breath.

Rotom eyes understood her lips, and it was only right that her servant should proclaim the role of her voice in her time of need.

"How did you know where to find her?"

Lily took a glaring moment to assess Millete's shaken state before answering directly.

"Well I tried to follow you and didn't know where to start. I was scared and came out here to find you, so I could help you. After searching all day I took refuge at the Pokemon centre for the night. They were happy to put me up and very accommodating, they are extremely hospitable towards Pokemon trainers. It was purely chance and co-incidence I was here when you popped out that pokeball, which more than intrigued me, but I'm sure you can fill me in about that later."

Lily was becoming further worried that Millete was unable to speak. What had transpired since she last saw her to cause this tigress to be reduced to such a state unworthy of her daredevil outlook of life? The notion of seeing Millete like this had never once migrated across her mind in all the time she had known her, it was almost belittling of her.

Millete's need to know consumed her bewilderment of the events that could have done this, wanting Rotom to bridge the time lapse with the advent of calamities that had taken place from the time she last saw this heroic crusader. Rotom obliged in which he began telling her tale, but to Millete's ears the words seemed slurred and made little sense in her confusion which was rapidly mounting. The effects of the pokeball travel had worn off but she was still being hindered with emotional strife.

The thoughts of the bloodshed and ravenous slaughter she had laid her innocent eyes witness to were tormenting her mind. Back in the serenity of her village cruelties of the outside world were never seen. Yes, she was the courageous vixen of Forbest village but her passive eyes had been shielded from the violence that elapsed around the globe on daily cycles of gory occurrences.

Millete stood there zoning out, partially oblivious to Lily, her arms folded to create a sanctuary for herself. Lily spoke gently to pierce past those disillusioned thoughts, attempting to get through to her a little. Millete eyes wavered around, assessing this unknown domain in which she had risen up to.

Lily's word seemed hard to understand as if they where spoken in a foreign language. Nothing was really making any sense, the ordeal had left her shaken really badly like a lamb put out to the slaughter awaiting at any moment to meet her end. Placing her hands upon Millete's shoulders with a solid hold, Lily gave her a violent shake and jerked her back and forth for a second as she gasped with fright, looking into Lily's eyes.

"Millete, I'm Lily. Look at me damn it, snap out of it. No one is going to hurt you. I'm here now."

Millete understood those words a little better and needed that as a wake up call. She tried to focus her mind and reply but to her frustration her voice failed her once more. She nodded to exhibit her responsiveness of the words spoken to her.

"That's a good girl now. Come with me."

Lily slid her arm around Millete's trim waistline, slowly aiding her to follow alongside her, walking with steady steps to avoid the staggering girl from loosing a footing. She helped her down onto one of the chairs, which lined in a row along the back of the waiting area and knelt down in front of her attentively to abet her in her recovery.

"Rotom told me that poor Machamp and little Duskull need a little attention? Mind if I take them to the healing machine? I promise I'll return them." Lily carefully chose her words as if treading on eggshells, she knew Millete in her right mind would not object, however she did not know what Millete's mind set was at the moment. She placed her hand over the garter, feeling Millete's hand grab hers protectively to not take her pokemon away.

"Listen darling your pokemon are not feeling well, so I'm just going to make them better so they can come back to you. You do want them to feel better don't you?" A tear rushed down her face as she nodded again. Lily gently unclipped the pokeballs from Millete's garter. Lily knew she had to get Millete out of here from what Rotom had told her earlier, the sooner Machamp and Duskull are out of danger of dying, the sooner they can leave for safety.

Rotom floated to Millete's side having brought a small glass of rose water, placing it into his mistress's hands. She held on to the glass in anxiousness, congested with erratic thoughts but failing to get the nightmarish sight out of her head. Starring into the water like it held a picture no one but her could see.

All the blood that had been spilt ran on repeat, her mind was a wrack of hanging fears. Her hands trembled visiting the scene again, seeing Machamp's accursed smile as he ripped those Houndooms apart. The damned beast loved every moment of his brutality. She had not spoken a word since the incident, not from want but she somehow lacked the capacity to.

Lily ignored all the chatter from the surrounding trainers who persisted in their gossiping, as she placed the pokemon into the machine. The pokemon centre's attendant had turned in for the night, so she took it upon herself to ensure that Machamp got the medical attention he needed. The machine lit up as she placed his ball under the descending beam as the monitor at the bottom stated critical condition in large red letters, he seemed pretty bad.

She followed up and placed Duskull's ball into the adjacent beam. The monitor lit up with green writing stating 'Fully healed, please remove ball. Pokemon is in evolution cycle, time remaining 29 hours'. Lily was surprised as she had studied his species, and with pure certainty she knew it required to be traded to be able to accomplish the next evolution. It seemed his bond with Millete was forcing this to occur. She could not explain it but it seemed the only explanation that made sense, as there have been one or two documented reports of this kind of thing happening before.

Pondering on these things was not a concern as there was more pressing matters on hand. Lily let out a reluctant sigh as the red letters changed to orange on the display stating 'Condition is now stable, no imminent danger'. She wistfully left as she sought to return to Millete's side once more. It would take awhile for Machamp to fully recover, maybe a couple of hours at best. This new machine worked three times faster than older models so it won't be long before she could get Millete out of harms way from the law and Darkrai.

Millete watched the other trainers sit squabbling over her, she felt uneasy being the centre of all this attention, curiosity and questions still captivated the air around her mysterious appearance. Their eyes seeking answers, making her feel restless and uncomfortable wishing she was somewhere else, somewhere away from all this. Lily's face appeared with that warm radiant glow again as she lowered herself to the floor before her. Her welcome return snapping her out of her dreary thoughts, facing her she took Millete's hands and cupped them in her own, gently rocking her body back and forth.

She looked around, remembering where she escaped to, it was the Pallet Town pokemon centre, and she was in an isolated room on the lower level. The room had pastel yellow walls with diagrams of various pokemon species adorning them. It was rather large, and with a lot of medical equipment situated on tables, some of which had machinery on them. Across on the wall opposite to her were shelves with a deep mahogany colour, and a hell of a lot of pokeballs stored on them, all tagged with their owners' names. Where the trainers were cuddled up with sleeping bags against one of the adjacent walls must be the sleeping and rest area.

She tried to speak out in vain to Lily unable to find the words, as Rotom intervened once more.

"My Mistress wishes to know what she should do."

Lily did not feel she had the answer to this but she replied with whatever wisdom she had.

"We all forge our own paths, but whatever path you choose to walk down or the outcome, I will be by your side to lend you a hand as I've always had. You just need to learn to ask for help instead of running off to handle things by yourself."

Millete nodded partly understanding what she meant, and some of it that still went over her head. What she did understand was when she told her that, she would be there to lend her a hand as she always was. Lily felt her consolidation was not enough to comfort her but felt it was sufficient to inspire some peace of mind for Millete.

"Rest now and close your eyes, just for a little bit, you need to keep up your energy or you will burn out, you naughty daredevil, he-he. Just let yourself go and I will be here when you wake up, I promise." The girl was still trembling, but she seemed to comprehend what was being asked, the words lulling her softly.

Lily embraced Millete's quivering arms below the shoulders, laying her gently against the cushioned seats. Lily's hand returned to her own easing her into a loving security of friendship that there was someone there for her. Millete felt a reassuring gentle squeeze, letting her eyes close and her wary body gain some release in the peace of dreams.

A couple of hours passed, Millete's eyes opened quickly in shock, her chest felt as if it was being beaten heavily like a drum as her heart raced. The feared ballad of police sirens rang out their authoritarian hymn, as it blistered through the door cracks and open windows. Lily turned her attention to the noises of the local law enforcement that could be heard amassing in great numbers. This was turning into a bleak situation.

Lily was fully aware of the crimes Millete had committed and their severity. She was not about to let Millete just go, there was no way she could. Lily felt horridly responsible for everything that had happened. She blamed herself for presenting the dare to Millete, and if she had not dared her then Millete would not be here. But what could they do? There was so many of them outside, resistance seemed like a stupid concept.

Rotom appeared to be assessing the situation. He was now the brains of this outfit as his Mistress was unfit to act upon anything with a clear head. He realised it was up to him now to figure something out or there wouldn't be much point in her having gone through all this if it was all to end here. Who else would take the fight to Darkrai and who would believe her after this?

With a cool level headed reply to the scenario Rotom proclaimed leadership in the absence of his mistress's intuition and input. She was in no condition to lead in light of the circumstances and someone had to step up.

"Please hear me out. I think I may have a way to escape."

The long arms of the law have extended their reach upon the tyrant that had acquired the knowledge of all things pokemon and stolen the most valuable of sensitive data. The commotion had begun, they knew they could not just barge in guns blazing, there were innocent civilians and trainers inside which could result in unwanted casualties, their safety was of the utmost importance while apprehending this criminal.

Armed police donned their bullet proof vests, some still strapping up having been assembled on short notice to the crisis. This was not a normal affair, this data should it fall into the wrong hands could create a national crisis. The cocking of rifles and slotting of clips were amongst the noises, building up to the tension in the air.

Four officers from the mounted police division who were patrolling nearby already dismounted from their Rapidashes and joined in to give assistance, eagerly awaiting leadership as to how to proceed.

A small golden eagle emblem with spread wings decorating the lower corner of the collar, embroided into a navy blue shirt worn by stalwart tall figure, glanceing over right to left as he raised his legs to fit his padded metal layered thigh armament. Captain Ruse's head was shaved clean and his eyes like a hawk surveying the situation, pondering the best action to take. Two officers from the specialised police forces had also mobilised as one of them brought forward a request for action.

"What are your orders, sir?"

"Get four teams on standby. Team 1 on the left, 2 on the right. Team 3 and 4 at the front. Local police at the main entrance. The rest surround the building and remain on standby."

He took a deep breath to appease his mind of any thing he had neglected, premeditating everything like pre-empt in a game of chess, then continued his remaining orders.

"Have the Arcanines back up the barricades just in case. If the subject shows any sign of hostility or resistance, shoot. But watch out for any hostages and civilians, more corpses are all we need. I want this entire building surrounded ASAP!"

"Permission to speak freely sir?" Gerald stared at his captain, was he serious? The officer was uncertain about the shoot to kill order and questioned his superior's authority.

"You're authorized to shoot." He replied with a relaxed apathetic tone. He was an impeccable figure of dominating prowess in the Hoenn special armed forces unit, and he had a reputation for being merciless towards criminals.

"She's just a teenager, Cap. Don't you think it's a little excessive to give the shoot to kill order?" Gerald was completely apprehensive of this plan of action.

"Your objection has been noted and overruled, do as I say and we can all go back happy with a quick wrapped up scenario. I want to be home sleeping like a Snorlax."

"Yes sir." Gerald felt some detest towards Captain Ruse, Gerald's own daughter Carla who he had adopted and raised secretly was twenty four and just a little older than Millete, he didn't think he would have enough heart to bring himself to act on a 'shoot to kill' order. Damn him, she's only a kid even if she has gotten herself mixed up in something over her head.

"Bring me the Bullhorn, Gerald. And hook me to the speakers. I am only going to give one chance for her to surrender. I'm not the cold hearted bastard you all think, and I want to give her the fair chance to put an end to this without her getting capped in the head. Nonetheless this order still stands." His voice was filled with a peculiar assertiveness and mixed with a zero tolerance.

The forces ran into their positions and respective teams before closing in near the building with lowered heads bent over as they strode along the ground cautiously, organizing into their five-man teams. The clatter and rustling of feet were audible as the remaining forces were beginning to form a secure perimeter around the entrance and rear door, gearing up to break into the pokemon centre.

Captain Ruse was handed the Bullhorn as he took a firm grip pushing down the button to give final warning and request for her to surrender, before he had a chance to get the first word in, there was a abrupt cataclysmic explosion. Blasted brick, gravel and panes of shattered glass were sent hurtling back at the assembled forces as they immediately ducked for cover. A mixture of materials blown off the side of the building were crashing down around the mobilised forces.

The silhouette of a human female stood in the large van size hole where the wall used to be in the pokemon centre. The dust was beginning to settle around her as a light brown skinned girl, with violet long hair stood defiantly with her two notorious pokemon floating to either side with no signs of the third or forth yet. She had made her position clear to bring the fight to the police.

She began a charging advance veering her direction right at the police, and there was a malicious spark in those emerald eyes as she drew two guns, from what Captain Ruse could tell were the Hoenn army's fragmentation guns, and completely illegal. Each round could split into 20 smaller bullets. The splitting bullets sometimes strayed sideways and hit allies. How the hell did she come into possession of such weapons?

Captain Ruse darted a couple paces towards the police car to his right, rolling behind as a cover against whatever she had in her arsenal, his hand with a trained flick unclipped the strap that secured his semi automatic pistol and drew it from his holster. He hated resistant criminals, especially those who disregarded authority and would dare oppose it. He braced himself for the inevitable attacks, shouting out in retaliation of he hostile act.

"Take that bitch down damn it!" A moment later a police barrage of bullets where sent showering upon the trio in a rain of flesh tearing metal.

Millete threw her body into evasive manoeuvres with agile movements returning pot shots at the Hoenn forces that luckily missed their targets. Her display of combat for an 18 year old seemed a little too perfect, was she trained for such a thing? The questions roamed Ruse's mind. Ruse turned around planting both arms over the bonnet, took aim letting loose a few rounds feeling the heavy recoil of his gun as he eased back the trigger each time then immediately disengaging to reload a fresh clip.

At the battle front Mismagius smirked, the bullets were passing through his phantom state with a flustering array of ineffective rounds. The purple spectre opened its ghastly mouth as particles of energy seemed to build with an enigmatic glow and focus, then without any further warning let loose a enormous Hyper Beam giving the police a taste of his power and of audacity to strike back at their authority. The beam impacted heavily into a row of parked police motorcycles, hurtling burning metal chunks in every direction.

Rotom knew it was his turn to play the havoc reaper now. His arms thrust out discharging heavy electricity, surging across the asphalt terrain of the car park, upturning the ground as it blistered towards a police car. His aim was for the fuel tank and to give them enough notice to move out of the way and avoid any deaths. The officers scattered away from the vehicle as it exploded, sending shattered glass and metal shrapnel outwards, a wheel hitting the roof of the car Ruse was sheltering behind, bouncing off and past him.

They were advancing outwards and away from the pokemon centre. He knew they were going to fight their way out and there was no way on this planet he was about to let that happen. No criminal had ever dishonoured him and he had no intention of this bitch doing that now. Bullets were coming at the police as fast as they were letting them rip, loud multiple gunshots with deafening sounds were roaring through the air. This had become a free-for-all shoot out.

The police met heavy resistance as bullets were sent racing to greet them, cascading across the floor in a flurry, rupturing the tyres of police vehicles and indenting their carnage into the articles within the combat area. This was becoming more and more troublesome the longer this dragged out, and it needed to be ended. Ruse was struggling to comprehend why the hell had Millete not been shot even once?

Captain Ruse was stunned at the inconceivable amount of fire power being used against them, even with her guns there was absolutely no way in the world that she could be firing so many bullets back at them, but they were all coming from her direction. He held fire, and restrained from shooting so he could observe the trio, it then occurred to him that she was not the one firing the rounds it was that Rotom, but how the hell was he doing it?

Gerald shouted from 10 yards in front.

"Captain we have to hold fire! That thing's using some form of electric field to divert the bullets around his body and throw them back at us!" That explained the extra fire power the enemy had been utilising.

This all made sense now and confirmed his suspicion about the limitless ammo the enemy was using. Captain Ruse pondered how the hell did this Rotom have this much power to redirect bullets around him? The only way he could would be to create enough electro magnetic energy and magnetise the bullets as they came in, then using an opposite charge to draw them away from his body and back at the police, but was this really happening? Shooting at them was like providing them with additional ammo to what they already had, it was only helping them.

"Hold your fire! Get the Arcanines to the front and cook that bitch's ass!" Commanded Captain Ruse with loud urgency.

The pack of eight Arcanines roared into action as they leaped in large gallops and bounds racing towards the Trio. Heated waves of flame were sent forth in burning fury as each of those Arcanines fired at will. The girl in her skimpy attire leaped off the ground avoiding the onslaught of continuous flaming bursts of oncoming attacks, her nimble feet making quick work of the flames. Her head diving to avoid another blast, she fell into a roll, springing to her feet once more to return fire, but nothing came but the sound, it was too suspicious.

Rotom began to surge a flurry of electric bolts that cavorted in random directions like an oddly balanced sonata. None of the bullets or bolts were hitting any of the police officers. Ruse was trying to make heads and tails of their attacks, which made no sense. What the hell was their game? Were they just mocking them?

A police motorcycle suddenly exploded a few meters to his left being hit by an electric bolt from Rotom, knocking him sideways from the force of the explosion. He was dazed as he picked himself up, his balance a little shaken, he brought his hand to his head giving a little shake to work it off. His hearing in his left was nullified with a lowed ringing, the loud blast had probably perforated his eardrum.

Ruse gave a momentary glance with his disorientated perception to take in their situation, the entire vicinity around them had been overturned into a battlefield with half the surroundings ablaze on fire and some police officers were sustaining minor injuries in such a short length of time. Bullet holes decorated the street lamps, cars, cycles and other objects that were in the line of fire. The black smudging signatures of bullets were stamped into the ground and holes littered the destroyed vehicles.

One member of the Mounted Police division shouted. The cry came from behind Ruse as he heard the officer's voice fall in his good ear.

"She's behind us! They're taking a Rapidash! There're two of them!"

Ruse was infuriated how he could let this happen, everything had fallen into place, he understood that a Mismagius must have created illusions and the Millete they had been wasting time on was a decoy so the real one could escape. The pokemon in front were acting as bait, and to lay waste to their transportation. With only the other Rapidash as means of pursuit it limited their options to apprehend her.

Ruse yelled out his frustration.

"Fuck that bitch she had this all figured out! Those bastards meant to destroy our vehicles from the start! Every other city's gonna laugh at us when they hear our entire force was outsmarted by a shitty little teenager and two pokemon!"

Lily had already managed to help Millete up who was still disturbed since her encounter back at the lab. Lily hauled her leg over the saddle as she gave the Rapidash a small kick with her heels to get him going, they had successfully managed to commandeer a police Rapidash. The getaway was going to plan and they had managed to escape police notice till now, just when everything was going so well they'd been spotted. Rapidash are fast but bullets are faster, could this be it?

To be continued


	6. Chapter 6 Evanescent Conflagration

The next chapter has arrived and hopefully we can catch up with the action. A big thanks to AbsolPerfectDisaster for his amazing work with the spelling and grammar. His timely work has allowed me to submit this chapter a little faster than I'd expected.

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Equinox-Kanto

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Chapter 6

~Evanescent Conflagration ~

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The Rapidash's tail combusted into a cindering flare, fortified in fire which rapidly oxidised the air around it fuelling its phosphorus red flames. The burning was getting radiantly brighter and blazing from the rear. Two olive coloured slender built arms reached out from behind Lily, tightly clenching her petite waist line creating a firm secure enclosure of stability for both riders before the Rapidash gained its volatile momentum and blinding speed through the night sky.

Rotom and Mismagius broke away fraying from the mass carnage that they had dished out in a brutal display of powerful defiance, flying with a celerity of great speed to rally with the others as they made their dramatic escape. Bullets of blinding speed were still shrieking across the air, roaring their horrendous sound, bursting past them, each shot eager to hit their targets, but in all their efforts failing to score a hit against the fleeting criminals. Multiple flurrying close calls gave way to instances of heart stopping moments in the intensity of the situation.

A couple of bullets had burst past as the Rapidash picked up the tempo, really beginning to take flight in strong furious gallops, leading the way from an inevitable chase by the police force in their inferno trail that it left in their wake of chaotic destruction. Not to be outdone and made fools of, the Pallet Town mounted police were quick to saddle up and begin the pursuit in the trail of sundering flames that remained from each stride of the Rapidash.

Lily and Millete stormed along the tough tarmac that held the dividing lines to part left from right of the blackened road as the Rapidash ripped down the centre, like a pair of scissors cutting down the center of a paper. Lily whisked her head to gain any visual confirmation if they had succeeded in the blast out of their carnage evoked escape, her scouring eyes distinguishing two pokémon flanking the rear and keeping pace just behind them. It was good to see Rotom with Mismagius had managed to join them.

Lily's vision focused just behind the two pokémon, her eyes fine tuned into the clear outlines behind the flames they were leaving; the heat wavered her vision, but there was no mistake. Three riders became distinguishable and very apparent in rapid hot pursuit of them. Unfortunately things were a little too convenient for a clean escape; it was not over just yet. Those bastards of the law were readily gaining quick ground as their own individual weight loads did not hinder their Rapidash as much as Millete and Lily combined G-factor did.

Houses and vehicles streamed past in an almost blur from the speed which was gradually exceeding the predecessor every few seconds. The lights of the dormant streets set the décor for the late hours of the night, flashing past like strobe lights for every street lamp which they past. Lily held onto the reigns of the Rapidash flicking them to encourage the Rapidash to greater speeds while she kicked into its side with gentle heel knocks. This was not good enough; they were still losing ground to the rapidly incoming threat.

A red flaming blast blistered past them originating from behind, the police Rapidash were in firing range now of the duo. Mismagius quickly moved down to be in direct line from any further attack to provide them with cover. They verged on the brink of this unavoidable paced battle at ridiculous speeds in excess of a hundred kilometres an hour. Any mistakes would mean being thrown off the Rapidash at such velocity that it would render their innards like a pancake flat against any obstacle that would abruptly present itself.

Rotom was wavering in the air as he tried keeping such vigorous pace, but he barely had enough energy and had reached the peak of his limit back at the pokémon centre. He raced along a couple of meters off the ground parallel to Millete. Rotom looked back seeing another inbound blast heading towards his mistress who helplessly clanged on. He wished he had more power remaining but he was far too exerted from the earlier show down. There was no way he could help defend her.

Mismagius replied with a reflex reaction, almost instantaneous to the incoming blast, as he returned a deflective blast of his own in the form of a destructive hyper beam. The hyper beam caught the incoming blast, skimming it enough to avert its trajectory, causing it to uncontrollably collide into a nearby garage of some poor sap as it exploded sending a thousand pieces of random materials in all directions.

The pursuit drifted along a route which caused favour to look down upon them like lady luck finally sending a smile of radiant hope to rotom. There were live tram lines running just a few meters high that carried electricity to power the trams that ran along the tracks directly below. Rotom needed power and this was ideal for boosting him. He began mustering his strength to force his labouring body to ascend in aggressive unstable movements that jerked his body against the turbulent wind.

Within the reaches of Rotom's body the final bursts of nucleus reactions of the last bits of stored energy took place to give him penultimate surges before the final hurdle, if he did not make it he knew he would be crashing in a few minutes anyway. His body pumped electrical energy to painstakingly take him upwards, stalling in mid flight every couple of seconds as he fought to gain height to the overhead running tram lines. He was like a car running on nothing but fumes before the engine cut out.

He could feel the presence of the power now, he'd done it! This was perfect, Rotom began to change his body chemistry a little to act as an enhanced lightning rod to draw out the power directly from the lines without needing to be in physical contact. Blue streaks of pure power arced and bolted into his body as he sighed in relief, it was like the rush of nicotine for humans. He was sustaining stability and smooth motions once again picking up and draining electricity as he coursed along the lanes of power cables.

Rotom grinned with brimming confidence, now it was his turn again. He was charging and he could now keep up and maintain both flying and replying with blasts of his own, as well as divert incoming projectile assaults. He returned his first reply of deadly force as a testament of his will to protect his Mistress. The critical mass of electricity lashed out with an incredibly overwhelming bolt directed to a nearby wall to create an obstacle. The recoil itself off balanced him as he quickly blasted a secondary counter strike in the air just above him using it as a counterbalance to maintain flight stability, thus stopping him spiralling out of control.

The titanic blast that leapt like roaring vengeance collided with the object of desire opposite him, and it all happened in the small space of a blink. One of the for-runners of this pursuit saw unavoidable enormous amounts of shattered cement blocks hurtling towards him into the road as the riders paid the penalty of the yellow spectral reaper's retaliation.

The riders had no chance as his Rapidash's legs buckled upon being hit in the knee cap and being levered off its feet with the force to crush its leg muscles and tendons with the sound of snapping bones. The mounted cop was thrown at break neck speed souring over a car as if he were a small stone from a sling shot, his body crashing through a patio window of a nearby house .

There was no time for Rotom to regret his actions, that cop was probably dead, no one could have survived that. It was not his intention to kill him but it was an unforeseen event and nothing could have been done to prevent it. It was either his mistress or them, he would rather settle for the latter. Cautious but undeterred, the two remaining riders maintained their burning pace like blood thirsty blood hounds hunting their fox with relentless unwavering determination.

The riders jumped over the cement hurdles, taking but a few leaps. Rotom was not going to settle for this. He wanted them to stop and if what had transpired with their ally hadn't disheartened them then he would have to keep trying even if it meant further fatalities, though he would attempt to be more careful as to not claim another soul if he could help it.

The prudent course of retaliation from Rotom conjured further hostile attacks as the flame thrower assaults came in faster and far more aggressive. Reflex actions were needed with split second reactions. Mismagius let loose a Hyper Beam with quick reflex reaction bringing the oncoming flames to a halt as the small explosion caused a blinding smoke mirror, a flame had burst through as he was caught out, but too slow to see the second blast coming in.

Mismagius saw a blinding flash surging in front of him as the flames exploded just before hitting him, leaving sparks and fire bursting safely before contacting him. There was a sigh of relief as he looked up seeing Rotom had him covered. Mismagius raised his arm to the air as the particles started to waver. He let his illusionary powers fold out in skilful mastery as he manifested a duplicate of his mistress and Lily along with the Rapidash they were riding. His skills in visualizing them into existence were remarkable yet not real.

The road was beginning to curve inwards and had a high concrete wall; it may provide some shelter from the flame blasts. This could be an opportunity to lose a rider at the bends where they were blind. The illusion rode on the inside where it provided more protection as they began racing around with the turn, Mismagius showing more protectively to display a little more desperation to keep it safe. Mismagius aligned himself in front of the illusion and again using a hyper beam to stop an advancing spiral of flames dead on as the rush of the chase reached a speed of 150kph.

The persistent riders were gaining and they needed something to slow them down. The riders had already taken the bait and were going after the illusion with furious blasts as fire trailed off the sides of the walls where blasts narrowly missed the illusion. It made sense to them that the Mismagius and Rotom would protect the real one and not an illusion.

The illusion suddenly split as the fork came veering off to the right. The cops were a little confused. They had a hunch the real one was the one that seemed to be protected a little more but they could not guarantee it. The front mounted officer signalled as he extended his arm out and flapped it around gesturing to the back cop to fire at the one on the right while he followed up blasts to the one on the left, they altered strategies again.

Decisions had to be made at fast paced deadly speeds with little room for any errors. They still needed to slow down the riders as they were incoming too fast. Rotom focused his energy to try to make good use of the limitless energy from the power lines at his disposal, allowing him to pick up a greater charge and the additional power he needed to execute an attack before the curvature of the road ended.

There it was, the perfect enclosure with a second high risen wall to the other side of the road, he let rip his devastating attack. The electricity blistered and arced out like blue streaking rain that poured down colliding with the tarmac. Multiple small explosions and flashes impacted with such force it littered the road in hundreds of pot holes as the pursuers slowed down. Their Rapidash really killing speed to shimmy and hop to avoid having trying to avoid their ankles being broken in one of these bothersome holes that had been created

There was a cry of pain, a terrible sound coming of snapping bone, as one of the Rapidash made a fatal judgement, its shin piercing through the flesh as its front left leg flapped bringing it crashing down, and flipping over sending its rider rolling a short distance away. Neither of them is going to be getting up after that but they'll more than live.

Lily looked over her shoulder as she was making a distance, only one more rider tailing her. He was left way back there but he wasn't giving up. It was only a matter of time before he made the distance back up. The small group where uncertain of their destination their main concern was getting Millete out alive.

Rotom looked behind; the rider was doing something strange. The damn sneaky cop, what is he up to? Rotom observed him as he was making quick ground up seeming to be a little faster than before. Rotom had gained enough charge to blast the road up again but this time making sure the rider does not continue its pursuit.

The rider was within blasting distance again as an inferno of fire engulfed the rider and his Rapidash shielding them from any further attacks Rotom could try, the flames roaring around it in a giant fireball that was scarily incoming fast. Rotom focused his power targeting the fireball directly hoping to divert the rider that was protected within it as he shot a frightening and powerful surge of electricity. The electricity just dissipated and channelled itself into the ground. Somehow he was being neutralised.

This cop was smarter than Rotom would have thought, but there was no way he was going to be outsmarted. Rotom looked ahead and as he spotted a suspension bridge coming up, supported by heavy twisted metal cables, he broke off his attacks to race ahead of Millete as the power lines came to an end. He had enough power to overheat and melt through the cable without much problems, he had gained an incredible amount of energy by now. The 50 meter bridge was rather tall.

Rotom flew up to the highest point well ahead of the group hoping Mismagius would hold the rider at bay. His main focus now was to burn through the main supports for the bridge, circulating the power out of his body into the metal as it started to melt. It held enough magnetic charge to hold it together as long as he was regulating the electrical charge, and as soon as he would stop the bridge would collapse.

He could see Millete and Lily coming up to the bridge now as he burned through the last part, in hopes of maintaining the bridge till she passed over safely. There was a powerful rush of wind as his friends rushed past. As if letting a rope go, Rotom stopped the flow of electricity as the bridge began to collapse while the crazed cop galloped down. The road along the bridge gave way under him as it all went pear shaped for him. He stared up looking at the yellow spectre known as Rotom seeing arced blue lighting coming down on him while he fell. He closed his eyes knowing it was the end.

"This is for my Mistress!" Rotom grunted.

Lily heard an enormous explosion from behind her like a lightning strike with a luminous glow that emanated from behind her and stretched out shining well into the distance of the path before her. She was not sure what it was but it definitely stood out from the sounds of the breaking bridge.

Lily pulled back on the reigns, the Rapidash was exhausted and its labouring pants were heavy. She slid the flat of her palm giving him thanks as her fingers ran through his soft silky coat, its pulse racing against her soft touch. The radiant glow of the city was disappearing behind them as they rode into the wilderness taking to a running stream to hide their tracks, and so they could lose their scent from trackers.

She pulled the reigns back firmly again to bring the Rapidash to a halt as Rotom and Mismagius gasped recapturing their breaths. It was hard to say if they had made it, but it was safe to assume they better get moving down stream as this was still fairly close to the town. Lily swung her leg over the Rapidash's head and pushed herself off using her hands. The water splashed around her ankles as her feet touched down in the shallow body of water.

Millete peered side to side, obviously not herself still, looking lost and confused with uncertainty still coursing through her body. It was apparent the rush of adrenalin was coursing through her and making her very uncomfortable. She looked down at Lily who reached up to give her a hand down. Millete jumped down, the cold water making contact with her ankles sent a shiver up her slender legs as a little hiss escaped her lips.

For some reason she still could not speak which was becoming even more worrying by the moment. It was like she was in a world of her own and it wasn't a healthy sign.

"Hey, Millete," Lily expressed concern to catch her attention from wavering off in her own world of fear. Millete's head turned around to face her with a blank gaze, her body a rapture of shivers.

"I was wondering . . . we could head up to see your cousin. Want to go see Nina?" Lily was trying to get a verbal response, but all she got was a nod to confirm she wanted to. Maybe she should have asked an open ended question. She did not want to push it and decided it was enough to get her attention again.

"OK, follow and watch your footing," Lily looked down seeing each step was making the water murky as the mud rose, going down stream was better as this would be washed ahead and not behind leaving nothing for any unforeseen pursuers to follow. Going to Virulian City may be a good place to lay low for a while to let things settle down or until Millete gains a little more control over her faculties. For now they needed to set camp as it was about 3am now but no fires or they would give away their location.

. . . . Back in Forbest Village

A veiled figure shrouded with a mysterious tone scathed along the ground, the speed too fast to be a human but the figure human like contradicting the agile movements. It moved within the stealth of the shadows closing in at Millete's home. The figure observed two police cars outside the home with an officer standing outside smoking a cigarette casually, enjoying the twilight past midnight.

The shadowed figure made a quick assessment able to determine there was one outside and three inside, its eyes so keen able to tell by a few snapped twigs and the distances between and placing along with how fresh they looked at the point of breakage even though the figure gazed from ten meters away it could tell the most minute of details.

The figure quickly scouted a way up as it ran at a tree adjacent to the upper floor window of Millete's house, its body moving like a pinball as it criss-crossed up the tree, jumping off as it side winded in the air and quickly landed on the ledge. It quickly swung back its robe to reveal a diamond edged blade able to cut through glass. A firm grasp was taken, and in less than a second four fast successive slashes where made. A square piece of glass fell out into the awaiting hand.

It reached inside undoing the window latch. Something was not making sense to the figure. These cops were acting strange. Why would they not be raiding a criminal's place for clues? Why is this town feeling so artificial? The people act so strangely as if they are actors or something. The figure quickly entered making so little sounds it was barely audible.

It made a quick few side steps getting to the open door. Its eyes evaluated the contents before making its next move but again its sight spotting a micro phone in a vase well hidden and a camera to the upper right. Was this Millete already under some form of observation? It made a fast advance concealing its face as it swung its body using part of the robe to hide itself from the camera, the robe covering the wall mounted well hidden spy device to cushion the sound as its heal crashed into the device.

Its movements and decisions as well as execution of whatever its mission was was undoubtedly acted out with perfection. Luckily the cops were not alerted, consumed with chatter, nothing but a very faint sound coming from the act. The shrouded figure took a look at the debris of the camera to shockingly discover it was Hoenn government standard pre-infiltration spy gear which they usually placed in officials and ambassadors rooms, but what business did the Hoenn Military have in the Kanto region? And why Millete? This whole thing seemed more of a mystery to what the figure had originally come for, it made no sense what so ever.

The figure wondered if this Millete was in a similar circumstance to what the figure had been in the past and a victim to these bastards just as it had become, but the robed one did not want to believe in the same atrocity as to what befell it was happening all over again. The horrors of the past repeated with someone else. To get to the bottom, Millete had to be found and eliminated if she is a threat.

The figure did not find many clues here. Everything seemed to be normal as if Millete had been living a normal life, it was not adding up. Why would she do such a thing and why is she under the surveillance of a foreign government? The figure made a sharp turn clinging to the wall as it made fast movements out of the rooms and down the stairs leaning up against the side to stay out of sight. The figure needed to listen to these cops. They may give a clue of where to start.

"Hey Roy, what you reckon, this bitch is probably not going to make it with that psycho Zergstar and Ruse on her arse, last I heard she was trapped in the Pokémon Centre being surrounded." There was laughter from the other officer.

"Ha-ha you didn't hear? She made Ruse look like an amateur and escaped and blew up half his squad and the local Pallet Town police, then managed to escape out the city."

"Poor bitch, I'd definitely screw that cute pussy. It's a shame she's probably going to end up dead. Well we are scheduled to return back to Hoenn to report in as our assignments in Kanto are done. It's going to be nice to be getting back home."

"We need to purge the town before we leave tomorrow. We need to do it right so it's like she never existed."

"Yeah, one of those Mewtwo's are getting flown in, and any non Hoenn Military personal are going to have their minds wiped of her."

"Seems drastic."

"It's just protocol, so they can't trace her properly. We still have some military presence here and with her going rogue it seems we need to keep a low profile till we can get all the equipment out to buy some time. The manual states memories of foreign projects upon completion or abandonment are purged from memories."

"What about ours?"

"Can't say, I doubt it. Even if they do we still get that big pay check that's waiting after all these years out here."

The figure heard enough as it ascended back up the flight of stairs and exited swiftly having got its lead. There was too many, "why" and "what" questions that needed to be answered.

~An isolated area in the wilderness a few miles off the water route 21~

Millete sat upon the rough bark of a log as she pulled her sneakers followed by her wet socks, the fresh breeze running through them as they embraced the air. She twiddled them and stared at them idly lost in deep thought again. This was beginning to look like a continuous pattern now and something had to be done, the fear regarding her Machamp had consumed her.

Lily felt horrid but the best way to defeat fear was to confront your fear. The fastest way to snap Millete out of it was for Machamp to be there, so she can look him dead in his eyes to see he would never hurt her. First off, it was probably better if she could gain some commitment from the mentally decaying young girl who has become a shell of her former self.

"Hey, guess what? I got a new pokémon, want to see? He's very playful so be warned!" Lily had managed to acquire somehow a Phione. Lily placed her jacket flat to the ground rolling a pokéball under to conceal as much of the light as possible. There seemed to be a lump under the coat as she pulled it away. There it was, one of the cutest little things in the pokémon kingdom.

"Phione, go on, say 'hi' to Millete?" The adorable little pokémon shuffled across the ground towards her in hyper active fashion, leaving swirling trails behind him as he approached. Millete glared down upon the affectionate little critter as he placed his head to her ankle and nuzzled at it. The sounds he was making were sweet and filled with delight, seeming like he wanted to make new friends. Millete reached along her leg down to the Phione, gently stroking the creature.

"Hey there you can't have him you know, he's mine!" Lily giggled commenting on the two which seemed to have a liking to each other. Lily observed a small smile on Millete's face, it was a relief to see it, and she was coming out of her terrified state. It was a pleasant sight seeing Millete take the little Phione into her arms and cradling him and playing with him. She smothered the little guy in tickles treating him like you would with a baby.

"You know just like my little Phione loves you, so does your Machamp you know?" Millete's eyes widened to Lily's comment, how the hell can a monster that loves carnage be even capable of loving. This was not something which she was willing to except. How could such an evil creature be conceivable of such an innocent emotion? Millete shook her head in disagreement with her trembling outlook on the thought.

"You know why I gave you Machamp? OK, he has some perverse after thoughts about you, but that's not why." That statement was a little in jest but no one seemed amused as she continued. "I am a trainer and you're not really, however you are more geared to be his trainer than I could ever be. I like doing my things, and to him its way too girly. But on the other hand, you're a damn tomboy and like physical activities and would train alongside him rather than just tell him what to do." Millete listened to her in partial agreement of her words.

"You need to know what he did was because he needed to impress you, to earn your favour, and to be accepted by you like one of your other pokémon. He needed to show you he was capable of being you're protector as much as you're others. Are you going to have him locked away in his pokéball for ever? Punished for wanting to protect you?" Lily finished her small speech not knowing if it made any good but she was adamant to bring Machamp out to meet his Mistress in the flesh to resolve their problems.

"Rotom, Mismagius, you have to stay out of this and let your Mistress deal with this on her own." Rotom seemed confused but accepted the fact that Lily is Millete's friend and she has not stirred them wrong or sold them out. Whatever she has planned or is going to do, if it meant he takes the back seat he could not care less as long as his Mistress recovered. He nodded with a small jerk, a little hesitant but with no objections.

Lily rolled a pokéball under her jacket once more, as it lit up a huge beast rising from under it as it assumed that form which tormented Millete. It was Machamp the monster to which her living nightmares stemmed from. Phione jumped away from Millete as the barbaric creature took its lugging steps towards her.

Millete started to breath heavily shaking her head as if it was about to kill her or something. Tears started to stream down her face. Looking over at Lily in terror, her head swung as she stared at Mismagius and Rotom, stretching her hand for them to come to help her and save her from this threat. When she got no response her head rolled downwards to rest her chin on her drawn in knee's holding her head with both hands, cowering from his sight.

"Look at him Millete he is your Pokémon, your guardian, he placed his life in harm's way to protect who? He sustained injuries and almost died protecting who? And what was all his pain suffered back in that moment where you would have died? He saved you for crying out loud! Now look at him, would a monster risk his own life to save someone?" Lily displaying forceful words, there was no way to get through to her and this was cruel, but to overcome fear she had to face it.

There was a loud thud as Machamp came crashing down on his hands and knees before Millete, his head bowed in an act of begging forgiveness, the creature desperate to gain acceptance from whom he had already accepted as his Mistress.

"Raise your head for fuck sake! Can't you see how much he wants you to be his Mistress? I could never offer him the kind of trainer he needed and to me he consolidated this and it hurt, but you, he saw his future. Yes he is a brute, unkempt and rough, but that when you come in. It's your job to train him, to mould him, to show him right from wrong. He acts on instinct but you can change that, and no one but you. Now look damn it!"

Millete raised her shaking wet face to look upon her muscular defender. It tore out a petite unfamiliar flower, with white petals presenting it to her as he held it out with his shame and regret. A beast with such power grovelling for forgiveness, his dignity swallowed along with his pride with acts of mercy for her love to take him.

The wind blew gently as it took Millete's hair like a fine comb kneading through it as her eyes fell upon the sorrow of lonely repentance. The jades of her green eyes probing his face seeing no signs of the malicious monstrosity within him. Not a single expression of hatred now could be seen as she gazed sobbing in his eyes, seeing that he would do her no harm. Millete only saw the distressed look of a beast with deeply grieved eyes for what his actions had done to her.

Her fear was beginning to subside gradually as she felt some of the mourning. He was suffering as much as she was and needed her. She knew he was truly sorry for frightening her to a point it had adversely had such a traumatic impact. Millete apprehensively reached to search for the monster she so feared; seeking for any evidence it was still there.

Machamp felt her soft touch for the first time feeling the smooth texture of her skin exploring his face but failing to find this monster she believed him to be. He could tell her pupils were shrinking, the dilating fear dispersing steadily from them as she started heavily breaking out into tears. Those sombre lips moulding to form words and then it came.

" . . . mm m m mm Machamp..." She leant forward as he sat up to greet his maiden with arms so desiring of her attention. He enclosed them around her seizing her to accommodate her need to accept and forgive. She met him in his embrace, holding firm to him.

Lily felt herself weep just a little. Her best friend had broken through the barrier which secluded her to her fears. The notion of love and acceptance was complete and full circle. She felt horrid for how she made Millete and Machamp resolve their problems, but it was a gamble and it did pay off. Millete had spoken and it seemed like she was finally going to be all right. The other pokémon that were watching, side lining their crusader girl, also felt the alleviation that time may still bring fruitful offerings. Now she was coming back to them. It may be a while till she is back to her usual self, but it had been a positive step.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this offering and hopefully the next chapter will only be a couple of weeks away. Feel free to leave any comments and feedback, all are welcome and appreciated! Thank you again.


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